August 1991 — Latvia gains independence from the former Soviet Union.
September 1991 — Latvia becomes a member of the United Nations.
June 1993 — The first post-independence parliamentary elections are held, and the center-right-wing coalition government is established under the leadership of Latvia's Way party (LC—Latvijas Celš), which receives 33 percent of the votes.
July 1994 — Latvia finalizes the Citizenship and Naturalization Law. The law enables those who were Latvian citizens in 1940, and their descendants, to claim citizenship. Naturalization criteria require knowledge of Latvian, a loyalty oath, renunciation of former citizenship, a one-year residency requirement, and knowledge of the Latvian Constitution.
April 1994 — A troop withdrawal agreement is signed with Russia, and Russia completes withdrawal of its troops by August 1994.
September 1995 — Parliamentary elections are held. The new Parliament has nine parties, with the largest party having 18 seats out of 100. A broad coalition government including six parties is established under Prime Minister Andris Skele, who is seen as a nonpartisan businessman.
September 1995 — The Law on Corruption Prevention is adopted. The law requires that public officials declare their assets and prohibits them from participating in decisions relating to their private interests. It also requires the president, ministers, parliamentarians, and parliamentary secretaries to resign from their previous jobs once they are appointed or elected.
November 1997 — The judges appointed to carry out the trial against Aleksander Lavent, the president of the collapsed Bank Baltija, resign after coming under political pressure from the government. The bank was declared insolvent and taken over by the Central Bank in 1995. The officials who took over the administration of the bank realize that US$260 million of the roughly US$500 million in assets of the bank disappeared.
April 1998 — The Democratic Party Samnieks, the largest of the six-party coalition, steps down from the government and Parliament. They accuse the prime minister of damaging relations with Russia.
October 1998 — Andris Skele's newly formed People's Party (TP—Tautas Partija) gains the majority of seats in the parliamentary elections. After the elections, two governments, which were formed by Vilis Kristopans (LC) and Andris Skele (TP), quickly collapse in less than a year.
November 1998 — The Law on Public Access to Information is adopted. The purpose of the law is to ensure public access to information from state and local administrative institutions. The law spells out a procedure for how government information can be obtained and used by citizens.
December 1998 — The courts send Aleksander Lavent, who was the president of the collapsed Bank Baltija, back to prison from house arrest. He had been held in house arrest due to an illness.
February 1999 — Latvia becomes a full member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
June 1999 — The Parliament elects Vaira Vike-Freiberga, who has no party affiliation and is a retired university professor, as its first female president.
May 2000 — The mayor of Riga, a member of the LC party, Andris Berzins, becomes prime minister of a four-party coalition.
April 2002 — The Law on Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau is adopted. The purpose of the law is to define the legal status and objectives of the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau and to monitor compliance of political organizations with party financing regulations. The Anti-Corruption Bureau is placed under the supervision of the Cabinet of Ministers.
October 2002 — The New Era Party (JL—Jaunais Laiks), which based its campaign on wiping out corruption, wins the majority of seats in the Parliament, and Einar Repse becomes prime minister of a four-party coalition government.
November 2002 — Parliament approves a new government led by former Central Bank President Einars Repse, who promises to curb corruption.
December 2002 — The minister of Justice publicly calls for the Anti-Corruption Bureau to investigate judges suspected of corruption.
June 2003 — Vaira Vike-Freiberga is reelected as president for another four-year term.
September 2003 — In a nation-wide referendum, 66.9 percent of Latvian voters approved joining the European Union (EU).
November 2003 — Several million dollars of state funds, which were diverted by alleged swindlers to a bank in Malta, are frozen by the government.
March 2003 — An investigation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau reveals that the JL minister of Health, Aris Auders, has been double billing in his previous job as a surgeon. The prime minister relieves him of his post.
February 2004 — The Law on Political Party financing is enacted. The law limits the campaign expenditures of political parties and prohibits corporate donations.
February 2004 — Prime Minister Einars Repse announces the resignation of his government due to not having a majority in the Parliament.
March 2004 — A minority government led by the Greens and Farmers Union leader, Indulis Emsis, takes office with the support of leftist parties.
March 2004 — Latvia joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
March 2004 — The government adopts a National Anti-Corruption Strategy, which consists of more than 100 strategies and institutions. The goal is to enhance financial control of political parties, improve the capacity of law enforcement agencies, increase the transparency of the public budgeting process, and ensure whistleblower protection.
May 2004 — Latvia becomes a member of the European Union.
October 2004 — Indulis Emsis's government resigns after Parliament refuses to enact his proposed 2005 budget.
December 2004 — Aigars Kalvitis is appointed as the prime minister by the president.
September 2005 — The Supreme Court sentences Stanislavs Nazarovs, a former prosecutor, to seven years in prison and decides to confiscate his property for receiving a bribe of US$10,000 in exchange for withdrawing an appeal.
October 2005 — Parliament adopts a new code of ethics that prohibits lawmakers from swearing and smoking in public.
March 2006 — The prime minister demands the resignation of the Transport Minister, Ainars Slesers, who is linked to a corruption scandal involving the election of the Jurmala city mayor. Four individuals are charged with bribery. Slesers, against whom no criminal charges are filed by the end of the year, returns to the Transport Ministry following the October parliamentary elections.
October 2006 — A center-right coalition led by Aigars Kalvitis is re-elected in the country's first general election since joining the EU and NATO. This is the first time that a ruling government wins re-election since independence.
October 2006 — The Prosecutor General's Office initiates a criminal investigation into two district court judges, Irena Polikarpova and Beatrise Talere, who are arrested and suspended from duty for allegedly taking bribes.
December 2006 — Riga City Police Board members Jevgenijs Nezincevs and Eduards Sabanovs are sentenced to four years and three years in prison, respectively, for receiving kickbacks.
October 2006 — A pharmacy chain operator, Vladimirs Labaznikovs, attempts to bribe an Anti-Corruption Bureau worker with US$87,500 in order to stop him from inspecting his firm's activities. The court sentences him to two years in his prison for his attempt. The sentence is suspended.
July 2007 — Valdis Zatlers is elected as the new president of the country by the Parliament, which has the authority to elect the president according to the constitution.
July 2007 — TV journalist Janis Domburs discloses a secret agreement signed between the Latvian Social Democratic Workers (LSDSP—Latvijas Socialdemokratiska Stradnieku Partija) party and an economic group identified as the "Ventspils businessmen," which includes the Ventspils city mayor Aivars Lembergs. The agreement indicates that the media group owned by the Ventspils businessmen will only publish reports favorable to the party. In return, the businessmen will receive government projects sponsored by the Latvian Social Democratic Workers party.
July 2007 — Aivars Lembergs, who was the mayor of Ventspils and the Union of Greens and Farmers' candidate to the post of prime minister during the last election period, is accused of bribery, money laundering and misuse of authority by the prosecutor general. He was arrested and detained by the police earlier in March.
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