SEVEN DEMOCRATS AND A DICTATOR: FORMAL AND INFORMAL POWERS OF LATVIA’S PRESIDENTS
In June 2011, Latvia’s Parliament (Saeima) elected the fourth state president since the renewal of independence in 1991 and the seventh in its history: Andris Bērziņš. A wealthy retired banker who had been elected to Parliament in the 2010 election on the Green-Farmers Union ticket,he was an unexpected, last-minute candidate, nominated just a week or so before the vote. His personal affairs, as well as his political philosophy, were utterly unknown to the wider public.
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