The new ambassador assigned to work with Latvia’s diaspora will be Rolands Lappuķe, says the man who was the first to hold the job.

In a July 29 email to media and other contacts, Juris Audariņš revealed that Lappuķe will replace him in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the special assignments ambassador on Latvian diaspora issues. Audariņš, who held the post since it was created in 2004, is moving to Canada to become Latvia’s ambassador there.

Ministry spokesman Gints Serafinovičs confirmed the appointment in an email to Latvians Online.

Lappuķe since 2009 has been Latvia’s ambassador to Spain.

Lappuķe is himself a product of the Latvian diaspora. He was born in 1956 in Courbevoie, France. Lappuķe studied at the Univeristy of Strasbourg, where he earned a doctorate in neuroscience. From 1982-1986 he taught at Latrobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and also was a biology and chemistry instructor at the Latvian high school in Muenster, Germany (Minsteres latviešu ģimnāzija).

Lappuķe’s diplomatic career began in 1993 when he was assigned to the staff of the Latvian embassy in Germany. In 1997 he became a counselor and in 1999 the ambassador in Latvia’s embassy in Portugal. He later served as a special assignments ambassador and then as ambassador to France.

Replacing Lappuķe in Spain will be Jānis Eichmanis, who received his letter of accreditation from President Andris Bērziņš on July 28, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Eichmanis was born in 1942 in Rīga. Educated in Canada and the United Kingdom, Eichmanis first worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992-1993. He then served as chief of staff for Latvian President Guntis Ulmanis. In 1995 he returned to government service in Canada, but in 1999 became a counselor and later deputy chief of mission in the Latvian embassy in Washington, D.C.

Eichmanis also has been the Latvian ambassador to Greece and to the NATO defense alliance.

The World Federation of Free Latvians (Pasaules brīvo latviešu apvienība, or PBLA) has announced a change in leadership after its chairman resigned to become involved in homeland politics.

As of July 23, the new chairman of the federation is Ints Rupners, who had been vice chairman of the organization, the PBLA’s representative office in Rīga announced July 27 in a brief message in its daily news digest.

Former Chairman Mārtiņš Sausiņš on July 19 joined the Civic Union (Pilsoniskā savienība), one of three political parties that make up the Unity (Vienotība) coalition. He also announced that he is prepared to be a candidate in the upcoming elections for the 11th Saeima, according to Civic Union spokesperson Dace Balode.

The elections are set for Sept. 17 and follow the July 23 national referendum that dissolved the 10th Saeima.

Sausiņš was born in Sweden in 1947 and now lives in Québec, Canada. He for years has been involved in the Latvian community in Canada, at one time serving as chair of the Latvian National Federation in Canada. Sausiņš was awarded the Order of the Three Stars, Latvia’s highest civilian honor, in 2007. He was elected chair of the PBLA in 2008 and re-elected in 2010.

Rupners was born in 1941 in Latvia. He has lived in the United States since 1950, where he has been an active member of both local and national Latvian organizations. He served as the head of the American Latvian Association (Amerikas latviešu apvienība) from 1992-1996, has led the Latvian Freedom Foundation (Latvijas brīvības fonds) and served on the board of the PBLA.

The election of the 11th Saeima—replacing the parliament that voters in Latvia and abroad fired in the recent referendum—will take place Saturday, Sept. 17, the Central Election Commission in Rīga has announced.

Political parties may begin submitting their candidate list on July 29, but the last day to file will be Aug. 18, the commission decided.

In all, the Saeima is composed of 100 members. Of those, 30 will be elected from the Rīga district, 27 from Vidzeme, 15 from Latgale, 15 from Zemgale and 13 from Kurzeme. Compared to October’s election of the 10th Saeima, Rīga has gained one deputy while Latgale has lost one, a commission spokeswoman said in a press release.

The September election is a result of the July 23 referendum in which almost 95 percent of more than 689,000 citizens voted for dissolving the current parliament. The referendum was brought about by then-President Valdis Zatlers’ call on May 28 to send the Saeima packing in answer to concerns about corruption and the political power of a handful of oligarchs.

Until the new parliament is elected, new President Andris Bērziņš may still call on the 10th Saeima to meet, the president’s press office announced July 26. However, sessions will be delierate and item will only appear on the lawmakers’ agenda if the Saeima and the coalition government have fully evaluated questions.