Frīdrihs Vesmanis

Frīdrihs Vesmanis (April 15, 1875 – December 7, 1941) was a Latvian lawyer and politician for the LSDWP and the first Speaker of the Saeima.

Early life Vesmanis was born on April 15, 1875, in Rundāle Parish to Kārļa Vesmaņa and Elizabetes Vesmanes (née Straumanes). After graduating from Jelgava Gymnasium, Vesmanis studied at the University of Tartu. He was arrested in 1897, and after his arrest, emigrated to England in 1899, where he published in the newspapers Sociāldemokrāts and Latviešu Strādnieks. He was elected to the 1st Saeima from the LSDWP and was the first Speaker of the Saeima. From February 1925 to March 1932, Vesmanis was the ambassador of Latvia in the United Kingdom. In 1927, after the death of Jānis Čakste, he was one of the candidates for the position of President. He retired in 1937.

Deportation and death On June 14, 1941, Vesmanis and his wife were arrested for being a "Socialist leader in [the] extreme right direction." Berta died two days later while on a train at Krustpils Station, while Vesmanis was sent to the Solikamsk Penitentiary, and died on December 7 at Umolya Penitentiary in Surmog.