Psychologist elected president of Latvia

In June, the Latvian parliament elected as president Vaira Vike-Freiberga, a professor emerita of the University of Montreal and a former president of the Canadian Psychological Association.

Vike-Freiberga took office on July 8, replacing Guntis Ulmanis, Latvia's first post-Soviet president, who served two terms. She is the first female head-of-state in post-Communist Eastern Europe.

As president her power extends mainly to naming the prime minister and serving as the country's spokesperson. In that role, she is likely to encourage Latvia to join the European Union and NATO. She is also expected to lead the country through its post-Communist transition, which has been marked by economic problems and tensions caused by the influx of immigrants from Russia during the five decades of Soviet rule.

"As a psychologist, she brings to her new position listening, perspective-taking and empathetic skills, as well as a thorough scientifically based understanding of human behavior and its mainsprings," says Juris G. Draguns, PhD, professor emeritus of psychology at The Pennsylvania State University, who has known Vike-Freiberga since 1963.

Vike-Freiberga was born in Riga, Latvia, in 1937. During World War II, she fled with her family to Germany and later to Canada, where she earned her high school diploma. She earned a master's degree in psychology at the University of Toronto in 1960 and a PhD in experimental psychology from McGill University in 1965.

She enjoyed a successful academic career at the University of Montreal from 1965 to 1998, when she retired to direct the Latvian Institute in Riga, an organization that promotes the country on an international level.

"Psychologists here and abroad will follow with interest and fascination how her [psychology background] can help [her] cope with the complex political, social and economic issues of her country," says Draguns.

--S. Martin



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