Einars Repse
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Einārs Repše, sometimes referred to as Einars Repe, (born December 9, 1961 in Jelgava, Latvia) is a Latvian politician.
Einārs Repše is physicist by education. He first entered politics in 1988 as one of founders of Latvian National Independence Movement (LNNK), a political organization promoting Latvia's independence from Soviet Union. He was elected to the parliament of Latvia in 1990.
From 1991 to 2001, Repše was the president of the Bank of Latvia (Latvia's central bank). During this period, he oversaw the introduction of independent Latvia's new currency, the lat. Under Repše, Bank of Latvia pursued a tight monetary policy, implementing a de-facto currency board for the lat. As a result, the exchange rate of the lat has been stable since early 1990s till now. The success of lat made Repše very popular in Latvia.
In 2001, Repše resigned from the Bank of Latvia to return to politics. He founded New Era Party, a conservative anti-corruption party. After 2002 elections, Repše became the Prime Minister of Latvia in November 2002. He led a coalition of his own New Era Party, the Latvia First Party, the Union of Greens and Farmers and For Fatherland and Freedom. Repše's government became known for an outspoken fight against corruption and tax evasion. Several high-ranked government officials, including the head of Latvia's state revenue service, were fired or resigned. The anti-corruption measures resulted in some success, as the revenues from the gasoline tax, previously notorious for tax evasion, increased by 30% in one year. The revenues from the other taxes, however, were not significantly different, compared to the previous governments. Repše's government also implemented a tight control on budget expenses, reducing the budget deficit from 3% of GDP in 2002 to 1.8% in 2003.
Starting from September 2003, a conflict between Repše and Latvia First Party, one of his coalition partners became apparent. Repše blamed the conflict on vested interests resisting his anti-corruption plans. The coalition partners mentioned Repše's authoritarian management style as the main reason for the conflict. Repše's government became a minority administration in January 2004 after the Latvia First Party left the government. He and his cabinet resigned in February 2004. After being in opposition during Indulis Emsis government, New Era Party joined the Aigars Kalvitis coalition government in December 2004, with Repše becoming the minister of defense.
He is also widely known by an unfriendly nickname marsietis (Latvian for martian) due to his extraordinary looks.
As to his hobbies, he is known to be interested in flying and aircraft.lv:Einars Repše pl:Einars Repše