Latvian independence celebration in Lincoln

Posted By: Pierce Georlett

pgeorlett@klkntv.com 

This year the country of Latvia is celebrating their 100 years of independence and they are having some of their celebrations at UNL, all because of close tie that you might not know about between the University of Nebraska and Latvia.

Latvia’s first Prime Minister, and founding father, is Karlis Ulmanis.

The way Latvia and UNL are so connected is actually through Karlis Ulmanis.

He graduated from the University of Nebraska with a bachelor of science in agriculture in 1909.

"He was a big UNL fan, I mean in his castle in the presidential castle in old town Riga, there are pictures of him with on one wall of the old castle was a coat of arms of Latvia, and on the other was a pennant from the University of Nebraska," says Liga Ejups who is the Director of Cultural Affair for American Latvian Association.

The celebration starts on the campus of UNL because of the lasting influence the University of Nebraska had not only on Karlis, but on the country of Latvia as a whole.

"Well after world war two when my parents for instance were Latvians that need to leave because of the Soviet occupation of Latvia. Then Nebraska was a place that was familiar to them because Ulamanis had gone to school here," added Ejups. 

This weekend long celebration also shows how influential Ulamanis ultimately became for Latvia.

"He taught us how to organize farmers, while he created the Farmers Union in Latvia and it’s still a party, it’s active on political stage even now, and participating in Latvian election," said Andris Teikmanis Ambassador of Latvia.