Vaira Vike-Freiberga

Vaira Vike-Freiberga

Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga (Born December 1, 1937 in Riga, Latvia-) is the current president of Latvia. She was elected president in 1999 and reelected in 2003.

Biography

Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga's parents were World War II refugees. They left Latvia in 1944 and lived in several countries: Germany, Morocco and Canada. She studied at the University of Toronto at Mississauga and McGill University, receiving Ph.D. in psychology in 1965. She then worked as a professor of psychology at University of Montreal from 1965 to 1998. During this period, she served as the Vice-Chair of the Science Council of Canada and the president of several professional organizations in social sciences. She was also active in the Latvian community in Canada. A large part of her research focused on Latvian folk literature.

In 1998, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga returned to Latvia to lead the Institute of Latvia, an organization devoted to promoting Latvia abroad. Year later, she was elected the president of Latvia.

Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga is married to Imants Freibergs, a professor of computer science at Université du Québec à Montréal (now retired). They have two children: Karlis and Indra.

External Link:

• Official Website of the President of Latvia