100 Years of the International Recognition of Latvia

The commemorative inscription "100 LATVIJA DE IURE 2021".

Latvia's international recognition as a sovereign state was the result of a long struggle following the end of the First World War. Latvia had declared its independence in November 1918 and subsequently asserted itself in the Latvian War of Independence against Bolshevik and Baltic German forces. De jure recognition by the Allied Powers followed on 26 January 1921 — a date that still holds a central place in Latvian commemorative culture today. With this recognition, Latvia finally became part of the international community of states and gained a legally secure foundation for its foreign policy. In the years that followed, the country joined the League of Nations and concluded numerous bilateral treaties that strengthened its position in Europe.

However, Latvia's statehood remained fragile: the Soviet annexation of 1940 and the subsequent German occupation interrupted independence for roughly five decades. The symbolic significance of the restoration of sovereignty in 1991 was all the greater, as it built on the interwar republic and is regarded, under international law, as a continuation of the state founded in 1918. Latvia thus sees itself not as a new state, but as the re-emerged successor to the republic recognised by the international community in 1921. To mark the 100th anniversary of this de jure recognition, Latvia issued a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2021, recalling one of the decisive milestones in modern Latvian history.