Mikelis Valters
Encyclopedia
Miķelis Valters (May 7, 1874 in Liepāja
- – March 27, 1968 in Nice
) was a prominent Latvia
n politician, diplomat, writer, and editor.
With Ernests Rolavs, Valters is considered to be one of the first to demand self-determination for the Latvians
in the form of an autonomous state within a democratic Russia
n federation. He is also credited with formulating the clause in Article I of the Latvian constitution (the Satversme, adopted in 1922) stating that "the sovereign power of the State of Latvia is vested in the people of Latvia" rather than the Latvian people (Latvian: latviešu tauta), and is thus responsible for laying part of the legal groundwork for a multi-ethnic nation-state and "political nation."
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
- – March 27, 1968 in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
) was a prominent Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n politician, diplomat, writer, and editor.
With Ernests Rolavs, Valters is considered to be one of the first to demand self-determination for the Latvians
Latvians
Latvians or Letts are the indigenous Baltic people of Latvia.-History:Latvians occasionally refer to themselves by the ancient name of Latvji, which may have originated from the word Latve which is a name of the river that presumably flowed through what is now eastern Latvia...
in the form of an autonomous state within a democratic Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n federation. He is also credited with formulating the clause in Article I of the Latvian constitution (the Satversme, adopted in 1922) stating that "the sovereign power of the State of Latvia is vested in the people of Latvia" rather than the Latvian people (Latvian: latviešu tauta), and is thus responsible for laying part of the legal groundwork for a multi-ethnic nation-state and "political nation."