Non-Communist Gets Key Latvia Post
The Supreme Soviet of Latvia has approved the appointment of Rajmond Pauls as the republic’s minister of culture, the first ever non-Communist Party member to be named to such a high-level post, the official Tass news agency said Wednesday.
Previously, membership in the party was required for candidates for ministry-level jobs in the Soviet Union’s 15 republics.
Pauls, 52, is a composer of jazz and pop music and a former chief director of the state-run Latvia radio and television network.
Tass said Pauls was nominated for the job at a special meeting of trade unions involved in art, culture and entertainment. The nomination was then approved by the Latvian Supreme Soviet, the republic’s Parliament.
“This is the first case where a non-party man became a republican minister,” Tass said. “The story of appointing Rajmond Pauls a minister conforms with the spirit of our time.”
Pauls said he was eager to shake things up culturally in the republic, which he said was suffering from bureaucratic stagnation.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.