When opening the conference dedicated to this historic event, President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis emphasised the significant legacy of Latvia left by Jānis Čakste, the first President of Latvia elected by the Saeima on 14 November 1922.
“Jānis Čakste is a symbol of democratic traditions in Latvia. Having assumed the responsibility for Latvia, he led the National Council of Latvia and the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia convincingly towards an internationally recognised and democratic law-governed state,” stated Raimonds Vējonis when addressing the audience of the conference including former Presidents of Latvia Guntis Ulmanis, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, and Andris Bērziņš.
The President of Latvia outlined that Jānis Čakste had already laid the decent foundations for a presidency when the Constitutional Assembly was just arguing about what the office of the President of Latvia should be like. “A strong state is based on the rule of law and justice. Only strong democracy and a legal country can contribute to the security and prosperity of the population. We still have a lot to do to meet the wish of Jānis Čakste, “May the Satversme of this new country make Latvia happy and strong!”
Former Presidents of Latvia Guntis Ulmanis, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, and Andris Bērziņš also attended the conference “95 Years of the Office of the President of the Republic of Latvia. From Jānis Čakste to the Present: Historical and Legal aspects”.
During the conference, professor Jānis Lazdiņš of the Faculty of Law of the University of Latvia spoke about the establishment of the office of the President of Latvia, the editor-in-chief of the Latvian National Encyclopaedia Valters Ščerbinskis told about the activities of the Presidents of Latvia in the interwar period, and the leading researcher of the Latvian Institute of History Ainars Lerhis presented the topic regarding the office of the President of Latvia in terms of the national continuity of Latvia.
After the conference, the President of Latvia and former Presidents of Latvia went to lay flowers at the graves of Presidents of Latvia Jānis Čakste, Gustavs Zemgals, and Alberts Kviesis.