Press information
Miķelis Valters-piemiņas zīme

On August 14, 2020, Miķelis Valters ashes were delivered to Latvia for reburial on an airBaltic flight from Nice, France. On August 11, M. Valters was exhumed at the Nice Cemetery.

Valda Jēkabsone -Valtere, relatives of M.Valter, and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Inese Liepiņa, Acting Head of the State Protocol, and Gints Jegermanis, Ambassador-Director of the European Department, welcomed the ark at Riga Airport.

The ceremonial reburial of the former Minister of the Interior and Ambassador Miķelis Valters in the Forest Cemetery and a memorial ceremony are planned for September 23 this year. Mr Valters was originally scheduled to be reburied on his birthday on 7 May, but the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic forced him to relocate.

The statesman M.Valters (1874-1968) was the first Minister of the Interior of Latvia, a politician, diplomat, journalist and writer. He played an important role in formulating the idea of Latvia's independence and in founding the state. From October 1919, Miķelis Valters was the diplomatic representative in Italy, in March 1921 - the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Italy, and from November 1921 - also the non-resident Minister in Spain and Portugal. Mr Valters was also Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France, Poland, Hungary, Belgium and Luxembourg, and Consul in Royal Prussia (East Prussia).

 

Prepared by:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Communication Group
Krišjāņa Valdemāra Street 3, Riga, LV-1395
Phone: (371) 67016 272;
Fax: (371) 67828 121
E-mail: media@mfa.gov.lv