Former President of the Republic of Latvia Guntis Ulmanis, spoke to a crowd of nearly 100 Latvian-Americans Jan. 20 at the Kalamazoo Latvian Center during a special visit to Michigan.
From 1993-1999, Ulmanis served as Latvia’s first president following the dissolution of the USSR, which occupied Latvia for 50 years. He was introduced by Maira Bundza, president of the Kalamazoo Latvian Association, and Maj Gen Leonard Isabelle, Michigan’s assistant adjutant general.
Maj Gen Isabelle pointed out that the Michigan National Guard’s highly successful partnership with Latvia began under Ulmanis’ watch 25 years ago.
“He was the first president of a country that was reinvented after the Soviets left,” Maj Gen Isabelle said. “He was also the first president who agreed to be a part of the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program (SPP), which has since expanded into such a great asset – not only for our national security but also for Department of State diplomatic efforts.”
Today, the SPP includes 74 unique security agreements with 79 countries around the globe, linking them with National Guard State forces. In November 1992, Latvia was the first country to be visited by a delegation from the National Guard Bureau while plans for the SPP were being formulated. The Michigan-Latvia agreement was formally signed on April 27, 1993.
In an interview on Jan. 20, Ulmanis spoke of how Latvia’s close ties with the Michigan National Guard helped guide his country through a tumultuous period in history. He noted that in the immediate post-Soviet era, even something as simple as the sight of a Michigan National Guard member working side by side with a member of the Latvian military held tremendous symbolic value to the masses.
“When Latvia was on its path to independence, we needed to build our own institutions and our own defense,” Ulmanis said. “There was no blueprint for our country. We just had to ‘do’ – and the first priority was creating agreements with other countries. Our relationship with the Michigan National Guard, and the fact that they were willing to work with us to build our defense capabilities, was very important in that.”
Since then, the SPP has reaped enormous benefits in both Latvia and Michigan. This success has largely been attributed to the long-term personal relationships that serve as the program’s core. Today, there are ongoing collaborations between Latvian and Michigan personnel in cyber defense, firefighting, airfield operations, public affairs, security operations and military professional development, among other areas.
“The State Partnership Program is not yesterday,” Ulmanis said. “It is today – and it is the future. The world is now a much more dangerous place than it was in 1993, and for all the technological answers we may have, we must not forget these human relationships that serve as the foundation for peace and stability.”
As an example, Ulmanis cited his close friendship with Maj Gen E. Gordon Stump, adjutant general of the Michigan National Guard from 1991 to 2003.
“There are no cultural issues between old Soldiers,” Ulmanis said. “In the heart, we are brothers.”
BY 2LT Andrew B Layton, Michigan National Guard
