Pauls Kalniņš | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Speaker of the Saeima | |
| In office 20 March 1925 – 15 May 1934 | |
| President | Jānis Čakste Gustavs Zemgals Alberts Kviesis |
| Prime Minister | Hugo Celmiņš Kārlis Ulmanis Arturs Alberings Marģers Skujenieks Pēteris Juraševskis Hugo Celmiņš(2nd term) Kārlis Ulmanis(3nd term) Marģers Skujenieks(2nd term) Ādolfs Bļodnieks |
| Deputy | Kārlis Pauluks Jāzeps Rancāns Juris Pabērzs Alberts Kviesis Arturs Alberings Margers Skujenieks[1] |
| Preceded by | Frīdrihs Vesmanis |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Acting President of Latvia | |
| In office 14 March 1927 – 8 April 1927 As Acting President | |
| Prime Minister | Marģers Skujenieks |
| Preceded by | Jānis Čakste |
| Succeeded by | Gustavs Zemgals |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 March 1872 |
| Died | 26 August 1945 (aged 73) |
| Nationality | Latvian |
| Political party | LSDSP |
| Spouse | Klāra Kalniņa |
| Children | Brūno Kalniņš |
| Alma mater | University of Tartu |
| Profession | Doctor |
| Awards | Order of the Three Stars, 1st and 2nd Class |
| Signature |  |
Pauls Kalniņš (3 March 1872 – 26 August 1945) was aLatvian physician and politician (LSDSP), a long-termSpeaker of the Saeima, one of the signatories of the Memorandum of theLatvian Central Council on 17 March 1944, and was theActingPresident of Latvia (1927, 1944–1945).
Pauls Kalniņš was born on 3 March 1872[2][3][4] (from other sources – 3 April[5]) at theVilce Parish "Mazpečuļos" as a farmer's son. After graduating from the local parish school, he studied atLiepāja Gymnasium,[5] where he met such later statesmen such asMiķelis Valters andJānis Jansons-Brauns. He graduated from the gymnasium in 1892 and went to study natural sciences atMoscow University, but later moved to theUniversity of Tartu, where he studied medicine, obtaining amedical degree as aDoctor of Medicine in 1898. He met his wife,Klāra Kalniņa, in 1895, and married her three years after.
As a member ofPīpkalonija [lv], in 1897, he was arrested together with other members of theNew Current and deported fromLatvia until 1901. The deportation was accompanied byŽagarė. After returning toLatvia, he became a prominent member of theSocial Democrats, a participant in the1905 Russian Revolution, and was a collaborator in the editorial staff ofCīņa (nowNeatkarīgā Rīta Avīze). He joined the non-Bolshevik direction of social democracy. He became a Chairman of theLSDSP Central Committee (1918–1924), a member of thePeople's Council, a member of theConstitutional Assembly and a member of all the first free stateSaeima, as a Chairman of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Saeima.
Kalniņš ran in the Latvian presidential elections of1930 and1933. On both occasions, he lost toAlberts Kviesis.[6] Kalniņš received theOrder of the Three Stars 1st (1927) and 2nd Class (1926).[7]
After thecoup of K. Ulmanis, Kalniņš spent 4 months in the concentration camp of Liepāja.
During World War II and theoccupation of the Baltic states, Kalniņš was one of the founders of theLatvian Central Council,[8] the main political resistance movement, becoming its leader after the arrest ofKonstantīns Čakste [lv] by theGestapo.
In a meeting of the LCC on 8 September 1944, Kalniņš signed theDeclaration on the Restoration of the Latvian State: "On the basis of theSatversme of the Republic of Latvia (Article 52), the position of the last President of the Saeima has passed to me as the last legally elected Speaker of the Saeima. On this day, I took up the position of the President until the election of a new President in accordance with the procedure provided for in the Satversme. [..] "[9][10]
According to theConstitution of Latvia, as the lastSpeaker of the Saeima, he was the acting president until his death.[11][12]
In 1944 Kalniņš emigrated. He died on 26 August 1945 in the village of Becava near Lustenava, in the Allied occupied Austria.[11]
He was survived by his wifeKlāra Kalniņa and sonBrūno Kalniņš, who were also notable employees of the Social Democrats.
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