Monument to the first President of Latvia Janis Cakste unveiled in Jelgava [11 Nov 2003]

On 14 November 2003 Latvia's President Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Chairman of the Jelgava City Council Andris Ravins unveiled a monument to Janis Cakste, the first President of Latvia.

The date of the ceremony, which included a performance by the National Armed Forces Staff Orchestra, was chosen to recall 14 November 1922 when Cakste was first elected the President of Latvia.

Janis Konstantins Cakste, grandson of the first President, also attended the event. .

The monument was designed by sculptor Arta Dumpe, and was erected with the financial support by the Jelgava City Council, individual donors, allocations from the state budget and Culture Capital Foundation.

Janis Cakste was born on 14 September 1859. In 1882 he finished secondary education in Jelgava and continued studies in law at the Moscow University from which he graduated in 1886. In 1888, Mr Cakste began to work as a lawyer in Jelgava where he became actively involved in public life and was elected chairman of major Latvian associations.

In 1905, Janis Cakste participated in the drafting of the project for Latvia's autonomy and in 1906 he was elected to the Russian State Council (Duma) as a representative from Kurzeme.

In 1918, the People's Council of Latvia elected Janis Cakste its President. Late in 1918 Mr Cakste organised the Latvian Diplomatic Corps abroad. Mr Cakste headed the Latvian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference where the delegation demanded the recognition of Latvia's independence.

Both the 1^st (1922) and the 2^nd Saeima (1925) elected Janis Cakste as President of Latvia.

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