History / November 17, 1918 – National Council established, which will later set up Latvia’s first provisional government

Your name
Your e-mail address
Receiver’s e-mail address
Comment

November 17, 1918 – National Council established, which will later set up Latvia’s first provisional government

25.08.2008

November 17, 1918 is as important day in Latvia's history as November 18, 1918, because on the day before Latvia's Independence Proclamation Day the National Council was formed from two Latvia's representative assemblies. The National Council elected Latvia's first provisional government, declared Latvia an independent country on November 18, 1918, and convened the Constitutional Assembly.

There were two representative assemblies in Latvia in the fall of 1918: the Provisional National Council and the Democratic Bloc. The two organizations eventually reached agreement on merging into a new representative assembly: the National Council, which was established in Riga on November 17, 1918.

The National Council worked as a temporary parliament of Latvia until the first meeting of the Constitutional Assembly; the National Council also elected a provisional government for Latvia.

The National Council had forty members; Janis Cakste of the Farmers' Union was elected the chairman of the National Council's Presidium. After that, Karlis Ulmanis of the Farmers' Union was appointed to form the Cabinet of Ministers.

In a meeting at the Riga Theater (now National Theater) on November 18, 1918 the National Council declared Latvia's independence. The National Council was a provisional legislative body of Latvia, it existed up until the first democratic elections in Latvia, which were impossible in 1918 and 1919 due to the presence of German and, later, Russian troops and the military operations in Latvia. The National Council worked for 18 months, from November 17, 1918 to April 30, 1920. In this period, the National Council had a total of 57 sessions. At the time Riga was occupied by Bolshevik army, the National Council's meetings were taking place in Liepaja, whereas during Pavel Bermondt's attack October 11 to October 31, the National Council's meetings were taking place in Cesis.

The National Council controlled the work of the provisional government. The National Council established the first provisional government on November 19, 1918 which continued work until July 13, 1919. By the first meeting of the Constitutional Assembly, two more governments were formed by the National Council. The first meeting of the Constitutional Assembly was held on May 1, 1920. At the first meeting of the Constitutional Assembly, the National Council's mandate was relinquished by Janis Cakste.

Picture one:

A meeting of the National Council in 1918, reproduction from the book "Latvijas Republika desmit pastavesanas gados", page 76, published in Riga, 1928.

Source:

Blūzma V. Kad īsti Latvija kļuva par valsti. Latvijas vēsture. 1991. 3, pages 3-9; 1992. 1(4), pages 3-13
Blūzma V. Tiesiskas valsts pirmsākumi Latvijā. Latvijas vēsture. 1998. 3(31) pages 20-24; 4(32) pages 6-14; 1999. 1(33) pages 46-54
Dišlers K. Ievads Latvijas valststiesību zinātnē. Rīga: A.Gulbis, 1930. Pages 65-73

Comments