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Aivars Lembergs

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Aivars Lembergs
Mayor of Ventspils
Incumbent
Assumed office
1988
Personal details
Born (1953-09-26) September 26, 1953 (age 71)
Jēkabpils, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR
Political partyCommunist Party of the Soviet Union (1975 - 1990)
For Latvia and Ventspils (since 1994)
SpouseInāra Lemberga
ChildrenAnrijs
Līga
Alma materUniversity of Latvia
OccupationPolitician
Net worthIncrease US$270 million (2013)[1]
Websitewww.aivarslembergs.lv

Aivars Lembergs (born September 26, 1953) is a Latvian politician and oligarch, who has been the mayor of Ventspils since 1988, a mandate from which he has been suspended[2] since 2008.

Early life

Lembergs was born in Jēkabpils, Latvia. He studied economics in Latvian State University (now known as the University of Latvia), graduating in 1977. He then worked in various positions in the Communist party of Latvia, becoming mayor of Ventspils in 1988. He stayed in this position after Latvia became independent and has been re-elected five times. Lembergs was the leader of the local political party, Latvijai un Ventspilij ("For Latvia and Ventspils") which he founded in 1994. Latvijai un Ventspilij has completely dominated the city politics since it was founded.

Before the 2006 parliamentary election, Lembergs' party Latvijai and Ventspilij entered into an alliance with the Union of Greens and Farmers and the Union of Greens and Farmers named Lembergs as its candidate for the Prime Minister of Latvia. He remains its leading figure and chief financial supporter.[3] He is one of the three "oligarchs" against which Zatlers' Reform Party had pledged to act if it achieves office.[4]

Career

Since 2008 he has faced a long-running investigation for bribery, money laundering and abuse of office; he vehemently denies all wrongdoing.[5][6][7][8][9]

Controversies

Lembergs also featured in the 2016 Panama papers offshore scandal.[10]. On 9 December 2019, the US government blocked his US assets under the Magnitsky Act[11].

On 10 December 2019, the US State Department declared him, his wife and children ineligible for entry into the US[12].

On 23 March 23 2020, Ventspils City Council deputy Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis has turned to the State Police with a request to start a criminal process against Lembergs for his defamatory claims voiced against minority deputy and state official Kristovskis[13].

References

  1. ^ "The Lembergs still Latvia's wealthiest family in 2013". The Baltic Course. 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  2. ^ Gederts, Gelzis (9 December 2019). "U.S. sanctions Latvian oligarch charged with corruption". Reuters. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  3. ^ Goehring, Jeannette (2007). Nations in Transit 2007: Democratization from Central Europe to Eurasia. London: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 404. ISBN 978-0-932088-26-0.
  4. ^ Eglitis, Aaron. "Latvian Parties Agree Budget, Euro as Coalition Talks Begin" Bloomberg.com September 19, 2011
  5. ^ E.L. "Time up for tycoons; Latvian elections: the oligarchs' exit" The Economist September 13, 2011
  6. ^ http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?docid=178741&doclang=en European Court of Justice May 25, 2016
  7. ^ Jemberga, Sanita (13 July 2018). "New Panama leak sheds light on the wealth of Latvian oligarch's daughter". Re:Baltica. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Prosecutor demands 8-year jail sentence for Ventspils bigwig". eng.lsm.lv. Latvian Public Broadcasting. LETA. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  9. ^ Hermann, Rudolf (29 April 2020). "Korruption in Lettland". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Latvian public figures feature in Panama papers" The Baltic Times April 7, 2016
  11. ^ Mengqi, Sun (9 December 2019). "U.S. Blacklists Foreign Officials, Support Networks for Alleged Corruption". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  12. ^ "Public Designations Due to Significant Corruption of Latvian and Cambodian Officials". state.gov. US Department of State. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Criminal process launched against Aivars Lembergs for defamation". Baltic News Network - News from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia. 2020-04-08. Retrieved 2020-04-08.

Media related to Aivars Lembergs at Wikimedia Commons

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