New Directions Series
On May 18, Valdis Zatlers, President of the Republic of Latvia, came to the University of Washington to express his support for the UW Latvian Studies program, “one of the best in the world.” President Zatlers visited Christine Ingebritsen’s Scandinavian Politics class to give a lecture about Latvia’s role in the European Union and NATO.
His visit also included a tour of the library, a lunch with Latvian language students and UW representatives, and a meeting with UW President Mark Emmert. The highlight of the day came when the UW Chorale, conducted by Prof. Giselle Wyers, sang “Put vejini,” a Latvian folksong that expresses a longing to sail to Kurzeme (a region of Latvia), and told the President about their plans to tour the Baltic next spring; President Zatlers immediately invited them to come sing in the Presidential Palace!
Accompanying the President were Mrs Lilita Zatlers and their son, Karlis Zatlers as well as several government officials.
Coverage included articles in the UW Daily and the Latvian newspaper Diena.