Alberts Kviesis

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Alberts Kviesis (22 December 1881, Tērvete parish - 9 August 1944, Riga) was a Latvian politician and the third president of Latvia.

Kviesis was born in Tērvete, Latvia. He studied law at the University of Tartu and graduated in 1907. After that, he worked as a lawyer. Kviesis was a member of Latvian People's Council (Tautas Padome) which declared Latvia's independence in 1918. After Latvia became independent, he was a member of the parliament, a minister and the deputy speaker of the parliament. He was a member of Farmer's Union (Latviešu Zemnieku Savienība) party.

In 1930, Kviesis was elected the president of Latvia and, in 1933 he was reelected for the second term. On May 15, 1934, the prime minister Kārlis Ulmanis dissolved the parliament and established an authoritarian government. Kviesis disapproved of Ulmanis dictatorship but showed no active resistance. Kviesis then served the rest of his term, signing the laws made by Ulmanis's government. After Kviesis's term expired in 1936, Ulmanis declared himself the president.