Latvia

B

Mining

Mineral resources include peat, gravel, sand, and limestone.

C

Manufacturing

The country is an important producer of electric railway passenger carriages and consumer goods, such as radios and refrigerators. Other products include steel, cement, processed food, and textiles (especially woollens).

D

Currency and Banking

Latvian officials promoted economic independence by abandoning the Russian rouble. The Latvian rouble, the rublis, which was first issued in May 1992 as a transitional currency designed to compensate for shortages of Russian roubles in the country, became Latvia’s official currency in May 1993. Later the same month, the lat, the country’s new currency, began replacing the rublis as the sole legal tender (0.48 lats equalled US$1; early 2008). The central bank is the Bank of Latvia (Latvijas Banka).

V

Government

The present republic of Latvia is a legal successor to the independent republic of the same name that existed from 1918 to 1940. The 1922 constitution is recognized as the country’s supreme legal document, and was fully restored in July 1993.

Citizenship and voting eligibility laws in the country changed considerably during the early 1990s. All residents, including Soviet military personnel, were eligible to vote in the country’s first multi-party elections of the national (Soviet) legislature in 1990. In 1993, however, restrictions on voting eligibility were imposed. Citizens of Latvia who were citizens before 1940 and their descendants are still eligible to vote, regardless of ethnicity. Other inhabitants are required to meet certain residency requirements for naturalization and pass a proficiency exam in Latvian. A new citizenship bill, allowing for the naturalization of a large number of non-citizens as well as ethnic Latvians, was adopted in the Saeima (parliament) in August 1994. It was followed by further strict citizenship laws in 1998 and 2006.

A

Executive and Legislature

The national legislature of Latvia, called the Saeima, is a unicameral body composed of 100 members. The members are elected by popular vote to four-year terms by proportional representation. The legislature elects a president by secret ballot, to serve as head of state; the president serves a term of four years and may not remain in office for more than two terms. He or she is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces. With the approval of the legislature, the president selects a prime minister and a Cabinet, who carry out the day-to-day operations of government.