Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party "Saimnieks" (DPS),
Ziedonis CEVERS, chairman; Latvia's Way (LC), Valdis BIRKAVS;
People's Movement For Latvia, Joachim SIEGERIST; Fatherland and
Freedom (TB), Maris GRINBLATS; Latvian Unity Party (LVP), A. KAULS;
Latvian National Conservative Party (LNNK), A. SEILE; Green Party
(LSZ), O. BATAREVSK; Latvian Farmers Union (LZS), A. ROZENTALS;
Christian Democrat Union (LKDS), P. KLAVINS; National Harmony Party
(TSP), Janis JURKANS; Latvian Socialist Party (LSP), F. STROGANOVS;
Latvian Liberal Party (LLP), J. DANOSS; Political Association of the
Underprivileged (MPA), B. PELSE, V. DIMANTS, J. KALNINS; Latvian
Democratic Labor Party (LDDP), J. BOJARS; Party of Russian Citizens
(LKPP), V. SOROCHIN, V. IVANOV; Popular Front of Latvia (LTF), Uldis
AUGSTKALNS; Political Union of Economists (TPA), E. KIDE; Latvian
National Democratic Party (LNDP), A. MALINS; "Our Land" (MZ), M.
DAMBEKALNE; Anticommunist Union (PA), P. MUCENIEKS; Latvian
Social-Democratic Workers Party (LSDSP); Party for the Defense of
Latvia's Defrauded People; Latvian Independence Party (LNP), V.
KONOVALOUS
International organization participation: BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE,
EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ojars Eriks KALNINS
chancery: 4325 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
telephone: [1] (202) 726-8213, 8214
FAX: [1] (202) 726-6785
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Larry C. NAPPER embassy: Raina Boulevard 7, LV-1510, Riga mailing address: PSC 78, Box R, APO AE 09723 telephone: [371] (2) 210-005 FAX: [371] (2) 226-530
Flag: two horizontal bands of maroon (top and bottom), white
(middle, narrower than other two bands)
Economy ———-
Economic overview: Latvia's economic transformation to a modern market economy - rivaled only by Estonia among the former Soviet states - faltered in 1995 as a result of banking and budget crises. Latvia's largely unregulated financial sector suffered a series of bank failures, including the collapse of the country's largest commercial bank - Bank Baltija - due largely to criminal activity by the owners. The government's attempts to compensate depositors of failed banks exacerbated an existing budget shortfall; poor revenue collection and a soft treasury bill market had already caused the government to incur a larger than expected deficit early in the year. As a result of the crises, Latvia's budget deficit for 1995 was $168 million, double that originally planned. In addition, GDP growth came to a halt. The Central Bank maintained its tough monetary policies - severely limiting credits to the state, despite the budget problems - helping to keep annual inflation the lowest among the Baltic states, at about 20%. New Prime Minister SKELE wants to invigorate the privatization of industry; agriculture already is mainly in private hands.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $14.7 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: -1.5% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $5,300 (1995 estimate as extrapolated from World
Bank estimate for 1994)