On the night of 15–16 May, Ulmanis, with the support of Minister of War Jānis Balodis and the paramilitary Aizsargi organization, took control of the main state and party offices, proclaimed the state of emergency (also referred to as the martial law) in Latvia, suspended the Constitution, dissolved all political parties and the Saeima (parliament).[1][2]
Ulmanis then established an executive non-parliamentary authoritarian regime in which he ruled as the Prime Minister. Laws continued to be promulgated by the acting government. The incumbent President of LatviaAlberts Kviesis, who was from Ulmanis Latvian Farmers' Union, accepted the coup and served out the rest of his term until 10 April 1936. Ulmanis then illegally assumed the office of State President and was officially known as "President and Prime Minister" (Valsts un Ministru Prezidents), but usually in publications was called "Leader of the people" (Tautas Vadonis) or simply "Leader" (Vadonis).
Ulmanis was unique among European dictators of the time, as he did not create one ruling party and did not introduce a new constitution. Instead, Ulmanis created state-controlled Chambers of Professions, based on the corporatist models of the authoritarian regimes of Konstantin Päts in Estonia and António de Oliveira Salazar in Portugal. The regime was largely based on the authority and personality cults of Ulmanis and Balodis as founders of Latvia during the Independence who it was claimed had freed the nation from multi-party chaos.
The bloodless coup was carried out by the army and units of the national guard Aizsargi loyal to Ulmanis. They moved against key government offices, communications and transportation facilities. Many elected officials and politicians (almost exclusively from Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party, as well as figures from the extreme right and left) were detained, as were any military officers that resisted the coup. Some 2,000 Social Democrats were initially detained by the authorities, including most of the Social Democratic members of the disbanded Saeima, as were members of various right-wing radical organisations, such as Pērkonkrusts.[3] In all, 369 Social Democrats, 95 members of Pērkonkrusts, pro-Nazi activists from the Baltic German community, and a handful of politicians from other parties were interned in a prison camp established in the Karosta district of Liepāja. After several Social Democrats, such as Bruno Kalniņš, had been cleared of weapons charges by the courts, most of those imprisoned began to be released over time, some deciding to go into exile.[4] Those convicted by the courts of treasonous acts, such as the leader of Pērkonkrusts Gustavs Celmiņš, remained behind bars for the duration of their sentences, three years in the case of Celmiņš.[5]
Referencesedit
^"Kārlis Ulmanis. Deviņpadsmitais Ministru prezidents", Latvijas Vēstnesis, no. 181, December 23, 2003
^. Archived from the original on 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
^Bērziņš, Valdis, ed. (2003). 20. gadsimta Latvijas vēsture II: Neatkarīgā valsts 1918–1940 (in Latvian). Riga: Latvijas Vēstures institūta apgāds. ISBN9984-601-18-8. OCLC 45570948.
1934, latvian, coup, état, latvian, 1934, gada, maija, apvērsums, known, latvia, also, coup, maija, apvērsums, ulmanis, coup, ulmaņa, apvērsums, self, coup, veteran, prime, minister, kārlis, ulmanis, against, parliamentary, system, latvia, regime, lasted, unti. The 1934 Latvian coup d etat Latvian 1934 gada 15 maija apversums known in Latvia also as the 15 May Coup 15 maija apversums or Ulmanis Coup Ulmana apversums was a self coup by the veteran Prime Minister Karlis Ulmanis against the parliamentary system in Latvia His regime lasted until the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 1934 Latvian coup d etatUlmanis followed by ministers in 1934Date15 16 May 1934LocationLatviaResultCoup d etat successfulBelligerentsPro Ulmanis Groups Government of Latvia Latvian Farmers Union AizsargiAnti Ulmanis Groups Saeima Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party PerkonkrustsCommanders and leadersKarlis Ulmanis Alberts Kviesis Janis BalodisPauls Kalnins Bruno Kalnins Gustavs CelminsMonument to Ulmanis in RigaOn the night of 15 16 May Ulmanis with the support of Minister of War Janis Balodis and the paramilitary Aizsargi organization took control of the main state and party offices proclaimed the state of emergency also referred to as the martial law in Latvia suspended the Constitution dissolved all political parties and the Saeima parliament 1 2 Ulmanis then established an executive non parliamentary authoritarian regime in which he ruled as the Prime Minister Laws continued to be promulgated by the acting government The incumbent President of Latvia Alberts Kviesis who was from Ulmanis Latvian Farmers Union accepted the coup and served out the rest of his term until 10 April 1936 Ulmanis then illegally assumed the office of State President and was officially known as President and Prime Minister Valsts un Ministru Prezidents but usually in publications was called Leader of the people Tautas Vadonis or simply Leader Vadonis Ulmanis was unique among European dictators of the time as he did not create one ruling party and did not introduce a new constitution Instead Ulmanis created state controlled Chambers of Professions based on the corporatist models of the authoritarian regimes of Konstantin Pats in Estonia and Antonio de Oliveira Salazar in Portugal The regime was largely based on the authority and personality cults of Ulmanis and Balodis as founders of Latvia during the Independence who it was claimed had freed the nation from multi party chaos The bloodless coup was carried out by the army and units of the national guard Aizsargi loyal to Ulmanis They moved against key government offices communications and transportation facilities Many elected officials and politicians almost exclusively from Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party as well as figures from the extreme right and left were detained as were any military officers that resisted the coup Some 2 000 Social Democrats were initially detained by the authorities including most of the Social Democratic members of the disbanded Saeima as were members of various right wing radical organisations such as Perkonkrusts 3 In all 369 Social Democrats 95 members of Perkonkrusts pro Nazi activists from the Baltic German community and a handful of politicians from other parties were interned in a prison camp established in the Karosta district of Liepaja After several Social Democrats such as Bruno Kalnins had been cleared of weapons charges by the courts most of those imprisoned began to be released over time some deciding to go into exile 4 Those convicted by the courts of treasonous acts such as the leader of Perkonkrusts Gustavs Celmins remained behind bars for the duration of their sentences three years in the case of Celmins 5 References edit Karlis Ulmanis Devinpadsmitais Ministru prezidents Latvijas Vestnesis no 181 December 23 2003 The Emergence of an Authoritian Regime in Latvia 1932 1934 Archived from the original on 2020 07 24 Retrieved 2016 04 10 Karlis Ulmanis Authoritarian Regime 1934 1940 Berzins Valdis ed 2003 20 gadsimta Latvijas vesture II Neatkariga valsts 1918 1940 in Latvian Riga Latvijas Vestures instituta apgads ISBN 9984 601 18 8 OCLC 45570948 Karlis Ulmanis Authoritarian Regime 1934 1940External links editDocumentary examines the coup d etat of 1934 20 May 2020 Public Broadcasting of Latvia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1934 Latvian coup d 27etat amp oldid 1204909441, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
