The University of Michigan Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia (WCEE) and Law School are pleased to announce a visit and conversation with His Excellency Egils Levits, current president of Latvia, on September 23. The event, “Latvia, Europe, and the Road Ahead: A Conversation with the President of Latvia, Egils Levits,” will be broadcast to the public via webinar. President Levits will be joined on stage by WCEE Director Geneviève Zubrzycki, professor of sociology, and Daniel Halberstam, Eric Stein Collegiate Professor of Law and director of the European Legal Studies Program.
His Excellency Egils Levits has held the office of the Presidency of Latvia since July 2019 and has been involved in politics his entire life. His parents were expelled from Latvia in 1972 for dissident activities and moved the family to Germany, where President Levits obtained degrees in law and political science from the University of Hamburg. He returned to Latvia in 1990 and co-authored the Declaration “On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia.” President Levits has held many other key offices, including Vice-Prime Minister and Minister for Justice, and has served as Latvia’s ambassador to Hungary, Austria, and Switzerland. He was the first Latvian judge at the European Court of Human Rights, and was a Judge of the European Court of Justice from 2004-2019. He visited the University of Michigan Law School in 2017 as a member of the Court of Justice of the European Union delegation.
“I am thrilled to welcome President Egils Levits to the University of Michigan and to give our students and faculty the opportunity to engage with him about Latvia’s role in the European Union, NATO, and other critical institutions,” said Professor Zubrzycki. “President Levits has been deeply engaged in Latvian government for decades, and I look forward to hearing his reflections as well as outlook on the future of his country.”
The conversation will take place on Thursday, September 23, 2021, at 12 PM ET. Register for the Zoom webinar at myumi.ch/NxE9B. The event will be presented by the Weiser Center for Europe & Eurasia, with support from the Center for European Studies; the Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies; and the Law School.
Contact: Liz Malinkin | weisercenter@umich.edu
The Ronald and Eileen Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia (WCEE) supports faculty and student research, teaching, collaboration, and public engagement in studying the institutions, cultures, and histories of these regions. WCEE is comprised of the Center for European Studies (CES); Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREES); and Copernicus Center for Polish Studies (CCPS); and works in association with the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies (WCED) at the University of Michigan International Institute. Named in honor of Ronald and Eileen Weiser and inspired by their time in Slovakia during Ambassador Weiser’s service as U.S. ambassador from 2001-04, WCEE began operations in September 2008. For more information, visit ii.umich.edu/wcee.
###
