Marathon Pundit: Latvian President Valdis Zatlers visits Chicago--with exclusive photo

Valdis Zatlers, the president of Latvia, is nearing the end of his week long tour of the United States. This morning he visited Zion Latvian Lutheran Church on Chicago's Northwest Side. Zatlers is in the center of the photograph, surrounded by members of the church choir. Also performing were the Chicago Latvian Men's Choir and the Chicago Latvian School Choir.

Latvians love singing.

The photograph was taken by Little Marathon Pundit.

On occasional reader of this blog, who probably doesn't want her name used because she doesn't share my political views, described his brief speech, which was given in Latvian, as "nothing controversial." Zatlers is running for a second term--the parliament chooses the nation's head of state. Zatlers discussed the upcoming election, the friendship between Latvia and the United States, and the always delicate relationship between Latvia and Russia. Latvia has been a member of NATO since 2004, there are soldiers from the Baltic state serving in Afghanistan. NATO membership, Zatlers told the audience, gives Latvia a stronger hand when dealing with its inimical neighbor to the east.

Related posts:

Latvian president awards his nation's highest military honor to Michigan National Guard commander
Twenty years ago: Latvia's Barricade Days
Riga Doms and Latvia's Barricade Days
Latvia 20 years after independence: Tearing down a Stučka statue
1990 bread line in Riga, Latvia
Potato harvesting in Latvia in the early 1970s
From the other side of the Iron Curtain: Gas mask drill in Latvia
Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad

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