Latvia to review Academy of Sciences’ role and operations

Latvia will establish an inter-institutional commission to review the Latvian Academy of Sciences’ operations, functions and future role, LSM reported.

Education and Science Minister Ilze Indriksone of the National Alliance said the academy’s situation had reached a critical point. Its original mission model was no longer working as intended, she said.

The review will examine problems with the academy’s current operating model and seek solutions that serve the interests of the state and society. The commission is expected to include scientists, universities, research institutes, members of parliament and representatives of the government and other institutions. It will prepare proposals on changes to the academy’s operations and legal framework.

The announcement follows controversy over the academy’s recommendation to grant Latvian citizenship to Indian scientist Divja Kanan Vishvanata. Parliament approved the citizenship grant on 15 October. After allegations surfaced on social media that she may have provided false information about herself, the State Revenue Service began checking declarations submitted by academy president Ivars Kalviņš and general secretary Baiba Rivža over possible links to her husband, Kanans Vishvanats, who has been a Latvian citizen since 2023.

On 22 October, parliament passed a law declaring invalid from the moment of its adoption the earlier law granting citizenship to Divja Kanan Vishvanata.