6th President of Latvia
Vaira Vike-Freiberga
GCB
OQ
(born 1 December 1937) is a Latvian politician who served as the
sixth President of Latvia
from 1999 to 2007. She is the
first and to date only woman
to hold the post. She was elected President of Latvia in 1999 and re-elected for the second term in 2003.
Dr. Vaira Freiberga is a professor and interdisciplinary scholar, having published eleven books and numerous articles, essays and book chapters in addition to her extensive speaking engagements.
As President of the Republic of Latvia 1999?2007, she was instrumental in achieving membership in the European Union and NATO for her country. She is active in international politics, was named Special Envoy to the Secretary General on United Nations reform and was official candidate for UN Secretary General in 2006.
She remains active in the international arena and continues to speak in defense of liberty, equality and
social
justice, and for the need of Europe to acknowledge the whole of its history. She is a well-known
pro-European
, as such, in December 2007 she was named vice-chair of the Reflection group on the long-term future of the European Union. She is also known for her work in psycholinguistics, semiotics and analysis of the oral literature of her native country.
After her presidency Vaira V??e-Freiberga serving as a Founding Co-Chair of the
Nizami Ganjavi International Center
and served as the President of
Club of Madrid
, the world's largest forum of former Heads of State and Government, from 2014 to 2020.
[1]
[2]
She is also a member of the International Programme Board of the
Prague European Summit
.
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Vaira V??e was born in
Riga
,
Latvia
. At the end of 1944, as the second
Soviet occupation
of Latvia began, her parents escaped to
Nazi Germany
. There she received her first education in Latvian primary school at a
displaced persons camp
in
Lubeck
,
Germany
, where her baby sister died.
[3]
Then her family moved to
Casablanca
in
French Morocco
[3]
in 1949. In Morocco she attended French primary school at
Daourat hydroelectric dam
village where she learned the
French language
. She then went on to attend
College de jeunes filles de Mers-Sultan
in
Casablanca
.
[
citation needed
]
In 1954 her family moved to
Toronto
, Ontario, Canada, where she completed high school.
[4]
Vaira V??e attended
Victoria College
of the
University of Toronto
, graduating with a
Bachelor of Arts
in 1958 and a
Master of Arts
in 1960, in psychology.
[5]
She worked at the
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
as a teller and part-time as a supervisor in
Branksome Hall
Boarding School for Girls. In 1958, being fluent in English, French, Latvian, Spanish and German,
[3]
she worked as a translator and the next year went on to work as a Spanish teacher for grades 12 and 13 at
Ontario Ladies' College
. Upon completion of her master's degree, V??e became a
clinical psychologist
at the Toronto Psychiatric Hospital in late 1960. She left in 1961 to resume her education at the
McGill University
in
Montreal
while also lecturing part-time at
Concordia University
. She earned her
PhD
in psychology from McGill University in 1965 with a dissertation supervised by
Dr. Virginia Douglas
, entitled
Concept Learning in Normal and Hyperactive Children
.
[6]
[7]
[8]
Professional life
[
edit
]
From 1965 to 1998 Vaira V??e-Freiberga pursued a professorial career at the Department of Psychology of the French-speaking
University of Montreal
, where she taught
psychopharmacology
,
psycholinguistics
, scientific theories, experimental methods, language and
cognitive processes
. Her experimental research focused on memory processes and language, and the influence of drugs on cognitive processes. At the same time she did scholarly research on
semiotics
, poetics and the structural analysis of computer-accessible texts from an oral tradition?the tradition of
Latvian folksongs
. During this period she authored ten books and about 160 articles, essays or book chapters and has given over 250 speeches, allocutions and scientific communications in English, French or Latvian, and gave numerous radio, TV and press interviews in various languages.
[9]
During that period Dr. V??e-Freiberga held prominent positions in national and international scientific and scholarly organizations, as well as in a number of Canadian governmental, institutional, academic and interdisciplinary committees, where she acquired extensive administrative experience.
[10]
She is the recipient of many medals, prizes and honours for distinguished work in the humanities and social sciences.
[11]
In June 1998 she was elected Professor emerita at the University of Montreal and returned to her native land, Latvia, after a 54-year absence. On 19 October the Prime Minister named her Director of the newly founded Latvian Institute.
President of Latvia
[
edit
]
Vaira V??e-Freiberga became
President of Latvia
in 1999. Although not a candidate in the first ballot, she was drafted by the
Saeima
(Latvian Parliament) and was elected to the office of President of Latvia on 20 June. She was sworn in on 8 July. Her approval rating ranged between 70% and 85%, and in 2003 she was re-elected for a second term of four years with 88 votes out of 96.
She actively exercised the powers conferred on the President by the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia. She also played a leading role in achieving Latvia's membership in
NATO
and the
European Union
. She was an invited speaker at numerous international events (such as the joint session of the
United States Congress
,
[12]
in June 2006), as well as an outspoken pundit on social issues, moral values, European historical dialogue, and democracy. During her presidency she regularly visited towns and villages to meet her constituents in person, and received many thousands of letters yearly from Latvians.
In April 2005, the
United Nations
Secretary-General
Kofi Annan
named V??e-Freiberga as a member of his team of global political leaders helping to promote his comprehensive reform agenda.
[13]
In September 2006, the three Baltic States officially announced her candidacy for the post of
United Nations Secretary-General
.
Post-presidency
[
edit
]
Since the end of her presidency in July 2007, Dr. V??e-Freiberga has been actively participating as an invited speaker at a wide variety of international events. She is a founding member and former President of the
Club of Madrid
, a member of the
European Council on Foreign Relations
, and honorary patron of several Foundations. She was a member of the Support Committee of the 2007
European Book Prize
and an honorary patron of the Paris Colloquium on the Teaching of European literatures. On 14 December 2007 she was appointed Vice-president of the Reflection Group on the long-term future of the European Union. In 2008, she became a member of the
European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation
. During the Spring semester 2008 she was an invited Senior Fellow at the Institute of Politics,
John F. Kennedy School of Government
,
Harvard University
. She was chair of the European Research Area Board Identification Committee (2008), chair of the Review panel of the European Research Council (2009), and since December 2007, vice-chair of the Reflection group on the long-term future of the European Union. Vaira V??e-Freiberga has also been appointed on the Advisory Board of
European Association of History Educators
EUROCLIO. In October 2011, she was made chair of the
European Commission High Level Expert Group on Media Freedom
.
[14]
She was a candidate for the first permanent
President of the European Council
.
Herman Van Rompuy
was eventually chosen for that position. V??e-Freiberga has said that under the
Lisbon Treaty
and beyond, a
federal Europe
is desirable.
[15]
Vaira V??e-Freiberga is a member of :
- the
Global Leadership Foundation
, an organization which works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, the experience of former leaders to today's national leaders. It is a not-for-profit organization composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organization officials who work closely with Heads of Government on governance-related issues of concern to them.
- the
Fondation Chirac
's honour committee,
[16]
ever since the foundation was launched in 2008 by former French president
Jacques Chirac
in order to promote world peace. She also participates as jury member for the Prize for Conflict Prevention
[17]
awarded every year by this foundation.
- Vaira serves on the
Leadership Council for Concordia
, a nonpartisan, nonprofit based in New York City focused on promoting effective public-private collaboration to create a more prosperous and sustainable future.
- Vaira is the Member of Board of Thinkers of Boston Global Forum
[18]
- Vaira is a member of the advisory board of the
Prague European Summit
.
[19]
Medals and honors
[
edit
]
V??e-Freiberga has received many medals and awards, including the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement
in 2000, presented by Awards Council member
General Joseph W. Ralston, USAF
, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, at an awards ceremony at Hampton Court Palace,
[20]
[21]
[22]
the 2005
Hannah Arendt Prize
for political thought, the 2007
Emperor Otto Prize
Prize for contributions in defining European identity and future, and the 2009
Friedrich-August-von-Hayek-Stiftung
for promotion of freedom and free trade. She has been awarded 37
Orders of Merit
and 16 Honorary Doctorates. She is a member of the
Latvian Academy of Sciences
, a fellow of the
Royal Society of Canada
and an associate member of the
Royal Academy of Belgium
. In 2013, she received the
Knight of Freedom Award
for her promotion of
democratic values
throughout the world, fighting for
equality of women
, as well as efforts for
social justice
.
National honours
[
edit
]
Foreign honours
[
edit
]
Awards
[
edit
]
Other recognition
[
edit
]
Four biographies about President Vaira V??e-Freiberga have been published (in Latvian, English, French, Finnish, Italian, Russian and Spanish), and a full-length documentary film
The Threefold Sun
in 2008.
Family and personal life
[
edit
]
Vaira V??e-Freiberga is married to Imants Freibergs, formerly a professor of computer sciences at the
University of Quebec at Montreal
. He was the President of the Latvian Information and Communications Technology Association (
LIKTA
) while his wife was President of Latvia. The couple met at the Latvian Students Club in Toronto. They have two children, K?rlis and Indra. Dr. V??e-Freiberga and Dr. I. Freibergs have founded a company “VVF Consulting” that offers consulting services to public and private organizations.
Selected works
[
edit
]
- Vikis-Freibergs, Vaira, ed. (1989).
Linguistics and Poetics of Latvian Folk Songs: Essays in Honour of the Sesquicentennial of the Birth of Kr. Barons
. McGill?Queen's Studies in Ethnic History 4. Kingston, Ont.: McGill?Queen's University Press.
ISBN
978-0-7735-0661-9
.
OCLC
22859230
.
- Vike-Freiberga, Vaira (2000).
Latvia's Place in a New Europe
. European Essay 13. London: Federal Trust for Education and Research.
ISBN
978-1-903403-26-6
.
OCLC
45682632
.
- Melngailis, Em?lis (2005). V??e-Freiberga, Vaira (ed.).
Saules balsi: Latvian Sun Song Melodies
(in Latvian and English). Riga: Karogs.
ISBN
978-9984-505-82-4
.
OCLC
68609088
.
[26]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Danilo Turk is elected new President of Club de Madrid"
.
World Leadership Alliance - Club de Madrid
(in Spanish). 2019-10-20
. Retrieved
2020-06-07
.
- ^
"Vaira Vike Freiberga, new World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid President"
.
World Leadership Alliance - Club de Madrid
(in Spanish). 2013-12-07
. Retrieved
2020-06-07
.
- ^
a
b
c
Vaira Vike-Freiberga, a Canadian-European
,
The Economist
, 21 August 1999
- ^
"Former Latvian president and Montreal professor on Putin: 'He's a narcissist and a psychopath' - National | Globalnews.ca"
.
Global News
. Retrieved
2022-03-11
.
- ^
(in English)
"Curriculum vitae of Vaira V??e-Freiberga (until 1999)"
. Chancery of the President of Latvia. Archived from
the original
on 2007-09-27
. Retrieved
2007-09-06
.
- ^
V??e-Freiberga, Vaira (1965).
"Concept learning in hyperactive and normal children"
.
- ^
"Concept learning in hyperactive and normal children"
. Archived from
the original
on 2019-08-07
. Retrieved
2018-05-16
.
- ^
Freibergs, Vaira; Douglas, Virginia I. (June 1969).
"Concept learning in hyperactive and normal children"
.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
.
74
(3): 388?395.
doi
:
10.1037/h0027601
.
PMID
5805741
.
- ^
"Latvijas Valsts prezidenta m?jas lapa"
. Archived from
the original
on 4 June 2016
. Retrieved
14 May
2016
.
- ^
"Latvijas Valsts prezidenta m?jas lapa"
. Archived from
the original
on 4 June 2016
. Retrieved
14 May
2016
.
- ^
"Latvijas Valsts prezidenta m?jas lapa"
. Archived from
the original
on 4 June 2016
. Retrieved
14 May
2016
.
- ^
(in English)
V??e-Freiberga, Vaira (June 7, 2006).
"Address to joint session of the United States Congress"
. Embassy of Latvia to the United States. Archived from
the original
on 2007-10-05
. Retrieved
2007-09-04
.
- ^
(in English)
"Latvian President named envoy to help promote Annan's reform agenda ahead of UN summit"
. UN News centre. 12 April 2005
. Retrieved
2007-09-04
.
- ^
"European Commission ? Press release Digital Agenda: high-level group to discuss freedom and pluralism of the media across the EU"
. 2011-10-11
. Retrieved
2011-10-16
.
- ^
Vaira V??e-Freiberga (2009-11-21).
"Focus on the big issues, not the bananas"
.
The Times
. Retrieved
2009-11-21
.
- ^
"Honor Committee"
.
Fondation Chirac
. Retrieved
14 May
2016
.
- ^
"The Jury"
.
Fondation Chirac
. Retrieved
14 May
2016
.
- ^
"OCTOBER 3: Global Media and CyberTerrorism Conference"
.
Bostonglobalforum.org
. Archived from
the original
on 30 May 2016
. Retrieved
14 May
2016
.
- ^
"International Programme Board"
.
- ^
"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement"
.
www.achievement.org
.
American Academy of Achievement
.
- ^
"2005 Summit Highlights Photo"
. 2005.
MIT President Dr. Susan Hockfield with a fellow member of the Academy, Her Excellency Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of Latvia, and her husband Imants Freibergs, during the reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- ^
"2006 Summit Highlights Photo"
. 2006.
Members of the Golden Plate Awards Council: President Bill Clinton with Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of Latvia.
- ^
"Latvia's President Vaira Vike-Freiberga smiles after receiving the National Order of Quebec during a ceremony at the National Assembly in Quebec city"
.
Adobe Stock
. Archived from
the original
on 2019-10-28
. Retrieved
2019-10-28
.
- ^
"CIDADAOS ESTRANGEIROS AGRACIADOS COM ORDENS PORTUGUESAS - Pagina Oficial das Ordens Honorificas Portuguesas"
.
Ordens.presidencia.pt
. Retrieved
14 May
2016
.
- ^
"BOE.es - Documento BOE-A-2004-17853"
. Archived from
the original
on 2018-04-23
. Retrieved
2018-04-22
.
- ^
(in English)
"Summary of publications by Vaira V??e-Freiberga"
. Chancery of the President of Latvia. Archived from
the original
on 2006-10-10
. Retrieved
2007-09-03
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Torild Skard (2014) 'Vaira Vike-Freiberga' "Women of power - half a century of female presidents and prime ministers worldwide", Bristol: Policy Press
ISBN
978-1-44731-578-0
- Vitols-Dixon, Nadine (2005) [2006].
A Life's journey: Vaira V??e-Freiberga, President of Latvia
. Riga: P?tergailis.
ISBN
978-9984-33-174-4
.
- ?aklais, M?ris (2003) [2003].
Izaicin?jums
(in Latvian). Riga: P?tergailis.
ISBN
978-9984-33-062-4
.
- Cimdi?a, Ausma (2001) [2001].
Br?v?bas v?rd?
(in Latvian). Riga: Jumava.
ISBN
978-9984-05-375-2
.
External links
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]
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