Entrepreneur and former politician Ziedonis Chevers has died at the age of 66, reports LETA.
Chevers was born on January 29, 1960. In 1978, he graduated from Riga's 8th Secondary School, and in 1982, he graduated from the Latvian State Institute of Physical Culture with a degree in physical education. In the 1970s and 1980s, he worked in factories, was a judo coach, the first secretary of the Komsomol Committee of the Kirov District of Riga, and the deputy chairman of the executive committee.
In 1991, Chevers held the position of deputy head of the Riga City Internal Affairs Department, and in the same year, he was appointed Minister of the Interior in the government of Ivars Godmanis.
In 1994, Chevers founded the party "Saimnieks" (Master), became its chairman, and was elected to the Riga City Council. In 1995, the "Saimnieks" party merged with the Democratic Center Party, creating the Democratic Party "Saimnieks" (DPS), of which Chevers became the chairman. In the same year, he was elected to the 6th Saeima, and the then-president Guntis Ulmanis tasked him with forming a government; however, Chevers' cabinet did not receive parliamentary support.
Chevers also served as Deputy Prime Minister in the government of Andris Šķēle but later resigned. From 1997 to 1998, he again became the Minister of the Interior in the government of Guntars Krasts.
In the elections for the 7th Saeima, the DPS party did not enter parliament, and Andris Ameriks was elected as the new chairman of the party.
In 1999, Chevers became a freelance advisor to President Guntis Ulmanis on integration and security issues, and in the early 2000s, a freelance advisor to the then-chairman of the Riga City Council, Gundars Bojars, on interethnic and integration issues.
In 2002, he signed a statement on the creation of a new political force—the Latvian Freedom Party. However, the party did not pass into the 8th Saeima, and its activities were subsequently suspended.
Chevers was awarded the Honorary Gold Badge of the Order of the Three Stars for his participation in the barricades of August 1991.
