Jānis Čakste
Jānis Kristaps Čakste (14 September 1859 – 14 March 1927) was a Latvian politician and lawyer who served as the first head of an independent Latvian state as the Chairman of the People's Council (1918–1920), the Speaker of the Constitutional Assembly (1920–1922), and as the first President of Latvia (1922–1927).[1]
Jānis Kristaps Čakste
Pauls Kalniņš (Acting)
14 September 1859
Sesava Parish, Courland Governorate, Russian Empire
(now (Viesturi Parish, Bauska Municipality, Latvia)
14 March 1927 (aged 67)
Riga, Latvia
Kadets
(1906)
Latvian Farmers' Union
(1917–1919)
Democratic Centre
(1922–1927)
Youth[edit]
Čakste was born in the Lielsesava (now Viesturi) parish of the Jelgava district, the son of a farmer.[2] He received his primary education at St Anne's Primary School, and entered the Academia Petrina in Jelgava, where he participated in student "evenings" advocating Neo-Latvian ideals.[2] After graduating in 1882, he entered the law faculty of Moscow University. While studying in Moscow, Čakste founded a local Latvian Student Society in 1883, which later became the academic fraternity "Austrums"[2] and actively participated in the activities of the local Latvian community along with Krišjānis Valdemārs and Fricis Brīvzemnieks.[2] Čakste graduated in 1886 and returned to Jelgava.
Family[edit]
He was married to Justīne Čakste, born Vesere, and they had nine children.[1] His son, Junior Lieutenant Visvaldis Čakste, died from wounds received in the defence of Jelgava in 1915. Another son, Konstantīns Čakste (1901–1945), a lawyer like his father, became one of the leaders of the Latvian national resistance during World War II and the Chairman of the Latvian Central Council, set up in February 1943 as the underground Latvian national government. Konstantīns Čakste was arrested by the Gestapo and died in a forced march from Stutthof concentration camp in February 1945.