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The Documentary: Her Story Made History: Vaira Viķe-Freiberga: The first female president of Latvia

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Vaira-Vike-Freiberga - Former President of Latvia

13/08/2019 GMT

Vaira Viķe-Freiberga: The first female president of Latvia

Her Story Made History

BBC World Service - The Documentary, Her Story Made History, Vaira Viķe-Freiberga: The first female president of Latvia

Vaira Viķe-Freiberga became president of Latvia in 1999 and re-elected in 2003

Vaira Viķe-Freiberga became president of Latvia in 1999 and re-elected in 2003.

Vaira Viķe-Freiberga became the first female president of Latvia in 1999, just eight months after returning to the country she left 54 years earlier. A dramatic childhood saw her leave Riga with her family in 1944, aged seven, after the Soviet invasion. After a spell in German refugee camps and some schooling in French Morocco, she and her family moved to Canada when she was 15. Vaira studied psychology and pursued a professional career at the Department of Psychology at the University of Montreal. She won many awards for her distinguished work in humanities and social sciences before returning to her homeland – and becoming president a mere eight months later.

(Photo: Former President of the Republic of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga speaks at the 2015 Concordia Summit at Grand Hyatt New York. Credit: Leigh Vogel/Getty Images)

The Documentary: Her Story Made History

Lyse Doucet talks to a series of remarkable women from across the globe about the relationship between women and democracy.

One hundred years on from the year in which the first British women won the right to vote, Lyse Doucet talks to a series of remarkable women from across the globe about the relationship between women and democracy.

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Her Story Made History

Vaira Viķe-Freiberga: The first female president of Latvia

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