From Refugee to the First Female President of Latvia | Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga
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From Refugee to the First Female President of Latvia | Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga
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Location: Riga
Date: Friday, 31st January 2020
Company: Latvia
Role: Former President
In the wake of the Second World War and the Soviet expansion into the Baltic states, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga and her family fled Latvia for a German refugee camp. From there, the family moved to Morocco before emigrating to Canada in 1954.
Vaira went on to gain a PhD in psychology and became a professor at the University of Montreal. She taught psychopharmacology, psycholinguistics, scientific theories, experimental methods, language and cognitive processes.
Throughout this successful career, Vaira remained fiercely loyal to her Latvian heritage and in 1998, aged 60, she decided to return to her home country to head a new Latvian Institute. Within eight months of returning, Vaira became Latvia’s first female President.
She was a hugely popular and successful President, and at one point her approval ratings were as high as 85%.
In this interview, I talk to Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga and discuss how her family fled Latvia, her life in Canada, returning to become President of Latvia and Russia’s influence over the Baltic states.
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Mentioned in the show:
BBC: Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU
BBC: Scottish independence: Could a new referendum still be held?
Wikipedia: 2003 Latvian European Union membership referendum
Wikipedia: Soviet re-occupation of Latvia in 1944
Wikipedia: Latvia–Russia relations
Fair Observer: Is the Latvian Government About to Settle the “Russian Issue”?
BBC: Russia threatens sanctions over Latvian language in schools
LA Times: Latvia, with a large minority of Russians, worries about Putin’s goals
NPR: A New Law In Latvia Aims To Preserve National Language By Limiting Russian In Schools
The Guardian: Baltic states no longer a bridge between east and west, says Latvia
The Associated Press: Ethnic Russians have big influence in Latvian election
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