Alberts Kviesis

Who was Alberts Kviesis?

Alberts Kviesis was a Latvian politician and the third President of Latvia.

Alberts Kviesis was born in Kalnamuiža parish. Having received his primary education from his parents, he thereafter finished the Jelgava Gymnasium and from 1902 studied law at the Tartu University, from where he graduated in 1907. After his studies, he worked as a lawyer in Jelgava. He took an active part in the work of Latvian national societies, having served as an acting chair of the Jelgava Latvian Society and a member of the Latvian commission of the Jelgava Red Cross.

On 25 April 1917, in Tartu, he participated in the Kurzeme local assembly and was elected to the Provisional Land Council of Kurzeme. In May 1917, he was elected by the Congress of Latvian Lawyers to the Bureau of Latvian Lawyers of Tartu. On 17 November 1918 Kviesis was among the delegates of the Tautas padome of Latvia and, as a lawyer, was elected the vice-chair of the Council for juridical affairs. During the first years of Latvian independence, Kviesis actively participated in the development of the Latvian legal and court system. In July 1919 he was appointed a member of the Court Chamber, becoming its chairman from March 1923.