Dated events associated with this case. Each event is a shared record: the same event appears identically wherever it is relevant.
· Declaration
The People's Council of Latvia proclaimed Latvia an independent, sovereign, democratic republic on 18 November 1918, electing Jānis Čakste as its Chairman and Kārlis Ulmanis as first Prime Minister.
Significance here: The founding declaration of the Republic of Latvia, though full independence was secured only after the subsequent War of Independence.
· Administrative change
Following the secret protocols of the August 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and a forced mutual-assistance agreement, the Soviet Union militarily occupied and forcibly annexed Latvia in the summer of 1940, overthrowing its lawful government.
Significance here: The event Latvia's own legal position treats as an unlawful occupation rather than a lawful transfer of sovereignty, underpinning the 1990-91 restoration (rather than founding) of independence.
· Declaration
The Latvian SSR Supreme Council adopted the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence on 4 May 1990, asserting the continued de jure sovereignty of the 1922 constitution and establishing a transitional period ending with the convocation of the Saeima.
Significance here: The first formal step toward restoring Latvian independence, later completed by the 21 August 1991 law.
· Declaration
The Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia adopted the Constitutional Law on the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia on 21 August 1991, restoring the 1922 Constitution and Latvia's independence de facto during the attempted Soviet coup.
Significance here: The law restoring Latvian independence after decades of Soviet annexation and occupation.
· Recognition
The Security Council recommended Latvia's admission to the United Nations on 12 September 1991, and the General Assembly admitted it on 17 September 1991.
Significance here: Formal international recognition of the restored Latvian state.
Dates show their real precision. Approximate or uncertain dates are labelled and never converted into an exact day.