Academy senate finds no proof Kalviņš knowingly exceeded his powers but says reputation hurt

The senate of the Latvian Academy of Sciences (LZA) knows of no evidence that its president, Ivars Kalviņš, knowingly breached the powers set out in its statutes when he recommended granting Latvian citizenship to an Indian national, Divja Višvanata (as her name is spelled in Latvian), LSM, the Latvian public broadcaster, reported. The senate did acknowledge that Kalviņš acting alone had created risks to the academy’s reputation and credibility.

Senate had not seen the letter

The senate said the recommendation letter was not submitted to it before being sent to the Saeima, Latvia’s parliament, and that it had not assessed it. The academy’s presidium said at a meeting on 29 October that Kalviņš had acted in good faith, relying on the information he was given, material prepared by the academy’s Institute of Economics and earlier positive cooperation. Kalviņš himself acknowledged that he had not checked the information in depth.

Rules on recommendations to be tightened

The senate said the procedure for issuing recommendations and opinions in the academy’s name needed to be improved. It plans to clarify internal procedures and rules, and a general meeting will decide whether to set up a working group on internal processes. The senate also said it was ready to work with the Ministry of Education and Science on reviewing the academy’s legal status, functions and governance, provided academic autonomy is respected.

How it got here

The Saeima passed a law granting citizenship to Višvanata on 15 October but repealed it on 22 October after doubts were raised in public about her education, academic publications and the grounds for the decision. In late October Kalviņš said in an open letter that he was considering stepping down, and later asked the senate to remove him as president. The academy’s autumn general meeting will decide on 26 November.

The Prosecutor General’s Office has opened an inquiry into how Višvanata obtained citizenship. It will also look at the academy’s actual role in citizenship cases and at the circumstances of the citizenship granted to her husband.