Dr. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, president of Latvia from 1999 to July 2007, will speak in San Francisco on May 14, 2008 at the Omni Hotel. Reception/5:00 p.m.; Lecture/6:00 p.m.
International Museum of Women Welcomes the First Woman Head of State in Post-Communist Eastern Europe
Dr. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, the president of the Republic of Latvia from 1999 to July 2007, will appear in San Francisco on May 14, 2008 as the featured speaker in the International Museum of Women’s (I.M.O.W.) Extraordinary Voices, Extraordinary Change Speaker Series program at the Omni Hotel. The evening kicks off with a reception at 5:00 p.m. with Dr. Vīķe-Freiberga speaking at 6:00 p.m. about a range of topics—from her life-shaping experiences as a young girl fleeing her war-torn country at the end of WWII to becoming the first female head of state in post-communist Eastern Europe.
This popular former Latvian president appears in conjunction with I.M.O.W.’s new global online exhibition, Women, Power and Politics. Launched on March 8, the cutting-edge multimedia exhibition runs until December 31 in four languages—Arabic, English, French and Spanish at www.imow.org.
Described as exhibiting a combination of strength, determination, vision and care in her leadership style, Dr. Vīķe-Freiberga has demonstrated that women can be both “tough” and “compassionate.” As president she worked to reduce corruption, helped grow Latvia’s market economy, secured Latvia’s membership in NATO and the European Union, improved relations amongst minority groups and increased Latvia’s standing as a dedicated democracy in the world.
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