Vike-Freiberga, Vaira

▪ 2000

      On July 8, 1999, Vaira Vike-Freiberga took the oath of office as president of Latvia, the first woman to head a postcommunist Eastern European state. The selection of a psychology professor from Canada who had no political experience and who had only recently returned to her homeland after more than 50 years abroad was surprising, and Vike-Freiberga had her work cut out for her. The country was deep in recession, and excesses in state spending had brought on near economic catastrophe. Moreover, despite years of vocal opposition from Russia (Latvia's principal trading partner) and the European Union (EU), which Latvia aspired to join, not to mention the country's very large ethnic Russian minority, Parliament had just passed a law requiring the use of the Latvian language in public affairs, schools, and many aspects of private business.

      Vike-Freiberga may have been a latecomer to independent Latvia and its politics, but her involvement with Latvian affairs was lifelong. She was born on Dec. 1, 1937, in Riga, the capital. She fled with her family to Germany and then French Morocco near the end of World War II after Soviet forces took over Latvia. In 1954 she moved to Canada, where she attended the University of Toronto and then McGill University, Montreal, earning a Ph.D. in experimental psychology in 1965. She worked (1965–98) as a psychology professor at the University of Montreal. A leading figure among Latvian émigré intellectuals, she became interested in Latvian folklore and, with her husband, Imants Freibergs, was a noted collector of Latvian folk songs. In 1998, upon her retirement from the University of Montreal, she moved back to Latvia, where she headed the nonprofit Latvian Institute, which promoted Latvian culture.

      On June 17, 1999, after six deadlocked ballots, Parliament chose her for president over several better-known candidates by a slim three-vote majority. Although her election was unexpected, Vike-Freiberga was quick to take action. She named as prime minister Andris Skele, who had served twice in that position, and charged him with reining in the state budget. She also stopped the Latvian language law and returned it to Parliament for rewriting to EU expectations. Determined to keep the country's foreign policy on a Western-oriented course, she criticized Russia's opposition to Latvia's bid to join NATO as well as NATO's apparent recalcitrance in admitting the Baltic states. Although little was settled in the first few months of Vike-Freiberga's presidency, the country nonetheless seemed energized by her determination and businesslike approach.

John Litweiler

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