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Krišjānis Berķis (b. April 26, 1884 in Īslīce civil parish near Bauska, Courland -- d. July 29, 1942 in Perm, Russia) was a Latvian general. Rising to prominence as an officer of the Latvian Riflemen in World War I, he was later one of Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis' principal co-conspirators in the coup d'état of May 15, 1934. He served as Commander of the Army from 1934-40 and became Minister of War in 1940. He died in a prison hospital in Russia in 1942. He was married to a Finn, Hilma Lehtonen (1887-1961), whom he met while serving in the Czarist army in Finland. Their only child, Valentins, died in Russia, and their grandson went missing.
[edit] Sources
- Rislakki, Jukka: Latvian kohtalonvuodet. Krisjanis Berkiksen ja Hilma Lehtosen tarina. SKS, Helsinki 2005. (With English summary)
- Rislakki, Jukka: Kur beidzas varaviksne. Jumava, Riga 20004.
