- Nils Ušakovs
-
Nils Ušakovs
Нил Валерьевич Ушаков
Mayor of Riga Incumbent Assumed office
July 1, 2009Deputy Ainārs Šlesers (2009–2010)
Andris Ameriks (2010–present)Preceded by Jānis Birks Personal details Born June 8, 1976
Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet UnionNationality Russian Latvian Political party Harmony Centre Alma mater University of Latvia
University of Southern DenmarkNils Ušakovs or Nil Ushakov (Russian: Нил Валерьевич Ушаков) (born June 8, 1976) is a Latvian journalist and politician. Since November 2005, he is the leader of the social democratic party alliance, Harmony Centre, which enjoys the support of Latvia's large ethnic Russian population. He was elected as a Member of the 9th Saeima in 2006. Following the June 2009 local elections in Latvia, the majority coalition of Harmony Centre and LPP/LC factions in the Riga City Council nominated Ušakovs for the position of the Chairman of the City Council, effectively the Mayor of Riga, the capital of Latvia. On July 1, during the first meeting of the newly formed council, Ušakovs was elected its chairman.[1] He became the first Mayor of Riga of Russian descent since Latvia's restoration of sovereignty in 1991.[2][3] Ušakovs' popularity among Rigans had grown steadily, and 73% of the city's residents approved of Ušakovs' performance in December 2010.[4]
Contents
Background
Ušakovs was born in Riga into the family of an engineer and an amateur jazz musician (father) and a literature and Russian language teacher (mother).[5] During his childhood, Ušakovs considered a military career, perhaps influenced by his family's history: both of his grandparents were army officers who fought in World War II; many of his ancestors were involved in the Russian Civil War.[6] Ušakovs graduated from the University of Latvia in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He became a naturalized citizen of Latvia during the same year.[3] He then lived and studied in Denmark, where he received a master's degree in economics and European integration from the University of Southern Denmark in 2002. Aside from his native Russian, Ušakovs is fluent in Latvian and English, with basic knowledge of Swedish, Danish and German.
Journalist
From 1998 to 2005, Ušakovs had occupied various position with the Russian and Latvian media, including NTV (1998–1999), Latvijas Televīzija (1999–2000), TV5 (2001–2004) and the Channel One Baltic (2004–2005), where he worked as a news editor. In 2004, Ušakovs, for his contribution to journalism, was conferred the Cicero Award, established by the University of Latvia and the Latvian Associations of Journalists.[5]
Politician
Saeima member
In 2005, Ušakovs' friend Jānis Urbanovičs made an invitation to join the National Harmony Party, which Ušakovs accepted. The party soon entered the Harmony Centre alliance, with Ušakovs elected its leader. He became a Saeima member after the 2006 Latvian parliamentary election, his alliance winning 17 seats (the third best result). The alliance positions itself as the only political force in the country promoting cooperation between the ethnic Latvians and Russians. Ušakovs has argued that such is the only way to achieve fuller integration of the Russian-speaking population, as opposed to political parties catering to the interests of only one ethnicity.[6]
Mayor of Riga
The Harmony Centre was the winner of the June 6, 2009 local election in Riga, securing 26 out of 60 seats.[7] It entered a coalition with Ainārs Šlesers' LPP/LC party, which won 12 seats. Ušakovs and Šlesers were nominated for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor respectively, a move approved by the new city council on July 1.
Ušakovs's inauguration was marred by a small controversy: the previous mayor, Jānis Birks of the right-wing, national conservative For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK party, which failed to win any seats, did not participate in the traditional ceremony of passing the chain of office to the new mayor.[8] Birks' press secretary claimed that it was not due to an ideological conflict or a grudge, but because Birks was away from the city on that day.
Ušakovs' sees strengthening of ties with Russia, particularly in the realms of freight transit through the Riga free port and tourism, as a solution to Riga's economic troubles, as Latvia is hit especially hard by the financial crisis of 2007–2010.[9] During his campaign for the Riga’s City Council, Ušakovs also argued for more emphasis on education of Latvia’s population and protection of vital local industries.[10]
Illness
On Sunday, May 22, 2011 Ušakovs took part in Riga Marathon half marathon event. Shortly before the finish line Ušakovs collapsed on the track. He was immediately placed in intensive care at Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital with signs of severe hyperthermia.[11] Ušakovs was placed in an induced coma state. On May 25 he was transported to Berlin for further treatment at the Charité Hospital.[12] The spokesperson for the mayor said the German medics had offered their help because of their expertise in treating similar cases.[13] The Latvian medical authorities had previously declared his condition "serious but stable."[14][15] As of May 29, the doctors have reportedly noted positive changes in the patient's condition and have started medical procedures to awaken Ušakovs from of the induced coma state.[16]
References
- ^ "Nil Ushakov wins the post of a new Riga mayor". ITAR TASS. 2009-07-01. http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14106582&PageNum=0. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ "(Russian) Бывший мэр Риги отказался передать Нилу Ушакову "цепь от Риги"". RIA Novosti. 2009-07-01. http://www.rian.ru/world/20090701/176007467.html. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ a b "(German) Auf alte russische Weise". Frankfurter Rundschau. 2009-06-29. http://www.fr-online.de/in_und_ausland/politik/aktuell/1816168_Lettland-Auf-alte-russische-Weise.html. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ^ "73% of Riga residents approve of Usakovs". BNN. 2011-01-26. http://bnn-news.com/2011/01/26/other-news/73-riga-residents-approve-usakovs. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
- ^ a b "(Russian) Нил Ушаков: секретные материалы". telegraf.lv. 2009-05-31. http://www.telegraf.lv/tags/chastnaya-zhizny/news/nil-ushakov-sekretnye-materialy. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ a b "(Russian) Нил Ушаков. Без политики". ushakov.lv (republished). 2006. http://www.ushakov.lv/ru/publications/16998/106/. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ http://pulitzercenter.typepad.com/untold_stories/2009/06/latvia-moves-leftward-in-local-elections.html
- ^ "(Russian) Рижские политики разорвали цепь преемственности". Kommersant. 2009-07-02. http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=1196340. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ^ "(Russian) Нил Ушаков: мы будем делать все, чтобы сохранить в Риге русские школы". RIA Novosti. 2009-07-02. http://www.rian.ru/interview/20090706/176426292.html. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ^ http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091116/rizga
- ^ State of Riga's Mayor Stabilises. ITAR-TASS, May 23, 2011.
- ^ Ušakovs nogādāts Vācijas klīnikā
- ^ Ušakovu pārvedīs uz klīniku Vācijā
- ^ Riga Mayor to be taken to Berlin hospital. The Voice of Russia, May 24, 2011.
- ^ Latvian mayor to be moved to Germany for hyperthermia treatment after half-marathon collapse. The Associated Press, May 24, 2011.
- ^ Ušakovu sāk modināt no mākslīgā miega.
External links
Categories:- 1976 births
- Living people
- Latvian people of Russian descent
- Latvian politicians
- Latvian journalists
- Russian journalists
- Deputies of the Saeima
- Mayors of Riga
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
