Frīdrihs Vesmanis

Frīdrihs Vesmanis (April 15, 1875 – December 7, 1941) was a Latvian lawyer and politician for the LSDWP and the first Speaker of the Saeima.

Frīdrihs Vesmanis
People's Council of Latvia
In office
July 1919 – August 1919
Mayor of Jelgava
In office
February 1920 – May 1920
Speaker of the Saeima
In office
7 November 1922 – 17 March 1925
PresidentJānis Čakste
Prime MinisterZigfrīds Anna Meierovics
Jānis Pauļuks
Voldemārs Zāmuēls
Hugo Celmiņš
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPauls Kalniņš
Latvian Ambassador to the United Kingdom
In office
February 1925 – March 1932
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byKārlis Reinholds Zariņš
Senate of the Supreme Court of Latvia
In office
March 1932 – 1934
Personal details
Born15 April 1875
Rundāle Parish, Kurzeme, Russian Empire (now Latvia)
Died7 December 1941 (aged 66)
Usoļlags, Molotov Oblast, Russia
NationalityLatvian
Political partyLSDSP
Alma materUniversity of Tartu
Saint Petersburg State University
ProfessionLawyer

Early life

Vesmanis was born on April 15, 1875, in Rundāle Parish to Kārļa Vesmaņa and Elizabetes Vesmanes (née Straumanes).[1] After graduating from Jelgava Gymnasium, Vesmanis studied at the University of Tartu.[2] He was arrested in 1897, and after his arrest, emigrated to England in 1899, where he published in the newspapers Sociāldemokrāts and Latviešu Strādnieks.[2] In 1903, however, he was illegally returned to Latvia, but was promptly arrested and deported to a camp in Šiauliai.[1] In 1909, he graduated from St. Petersburg University. Until 1918, Vesmanis has been a lawyer in Jelgava and St. Petersburg, as well as working in journalism. In April 1918, he returned to Latvia.

Political career

In 1919, from July to August, Vesmanis was a member of the People's Council of Latvia.[1] In 1920, from February to May, he was the mayor of Jelgava, but later worked in the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia.[1][2] In 1922, after founding the Central Election Commission, Vesmanis was one of the eight original members.[3] He was elected to the 1st Saeima from the LSDWP and was the first Speaker of the Saeima. From February 1925 to March 1932, Vesmanis was the ambassador of Latvia in the United Kingdom. In 1927, after the death of Jānis Čakste, he was one of the candidates for the position of President.[4] He retired in 1937.[1]

Deportation and death

On June 14, 1941, Vesmanis was arrested for being a "Socialist leader in [the] extreme right direction." Vesmanis was sent to the Solikamsk Penitentiary, and died on December 7 at Umolya Penitentiary in Surmog.[1]

gollark: What does the "infinite" have to do with anything, also?
gollark: I would not mind patches for cognitive biases and stuff.
gollark: Well, you could fix some of the more egregious bugs in humans without losing anything important, surely.
gollark: ...
gollark: > people with aspergers have an easier time picking up on emotion... isn't the opposite true?

References
  1. "Fridrihs VESMANIS" (in Latvian). Latvijas Republikas Ārlietu Ministrija.
  2. "Vesmanis" (in Latvian). Saeima.
  3. "Vēstures Fakti" (in Latvian).
  4. "Prezidentu «zīlēšanas» starpkaru Latvijā" (in Latvian). astrologi.lv.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.