LNBAB

Undīne Būde is the chairperson of the board of the Latvian National Library Foundation. She is also the chairperson of the board of A/S Latvijas Zaļais punkts (Green Point of Latvia), a board member at A/S Eko Investors, and works on the boards at the Packaging Association of Latvia and the Used-Packaging and Reusable-Materials Recyclers Association. Būde graduated from the University of Latvia’s Department of Biology and studied business management at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga.

Ingrīda Blūma has worked at A/S Vācijas – Latvijas Banka (German – Latvian Bank) since its inception, in 1992. When the bank became part of the Hansabanka Group, in 1996, Blūma became the chairperson of the board of A/S Hansabanka Latvija, a position she has held since December of 2006. Since December of 2005, Blūma has also been the deputy chairperson of the board of the Hansabanka Group and the executive vice-president of A/S Swedbank. At the moment, she works as a lecturer at the Riga Business School.

Žanete Jaunzeme received a Master’s degree in social sciences from the University of Latvia. From 1997 to 2000, she was the chairperson of the board of the state organization BO SIA Bibliotēku informācijas tīklu konsorcijs (Consortium of Library Information Networks). She is currently a member of Latvia’s Long-term Strategy Work Group, the chairperson of the board at SIA Marsh, the president of the Latvian Professional Insurance Brokers Association, and the deputy chairperson of the council of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Armands Jurjevs has been a business consultant at the Interinfo Group since June of 2006. Before that, he was the director of SIA Interinfo Latvia, the director of AAS Saules Laiks (where he was also a board member), and the director of the Latvian branch office of IBM. Jurjevs has worked for more than sixteen years in the international business environment.

Marina Kostaņecka is currently employed at Latvijas Radio, where she produces and hosts the Russian-language program “Doma laukums” (Dome Square). Throughout the course of her career as a Russian writer, Kostaņecka has closely linked both her creative works and her social and political activities with Latvia. During the Reawakening Period, she was a member of the council and board of the People’s Front. In 1989, with the support of the People’s Front, she was elected a U.S.S.R. deputy and, later, a member of the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet. Kostaņecka received the Order of the Three Stars on November 18, 1994, for her service to Latvia. Kostaņecka’s books have been published in Riga, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Prague, and Bratislava. Her books Baltās kāpas (White Dunes), Esmu nolemta dzīvei (I’ve Been Fated to Life), and Šis biķeris man neies secen (This Goblet Won’t Pass Me By) have been translated into Latvian. In April of 2007, the publishing house Antēra published a selection of her prose and journalism, entitled Lēti pārdodu klaunu (Cheap Clown for Sale).

Director of the Liepāja Central Research Library and Chairperson of the Cultural Commission of the Liepājas City Council, was born on July 12, 1942, and received her librarian’s degree from the History and Philology Department at the Latvian State University. Krauče has completed several supplementary courses for librarians, and written informative articles for the librarians’ magazine Bibliotēkas pasaule, the Liepāja calendar, and the newspapers Kurzemes Vārds, Rīta Ekspresis, and Diena.

Karina Pētersone is the director of the Latvian National Library Foundation and a member of its board. She graduated from the University of Latvia’s Department of Foreign Languages, with a degree in English, and completed graduate study at the University. Pētersone, a member of the board of the political party Latvijas pirmā partia/Latvijas ceļš (Latvia’s First Party/Latvia’s Way), has been a deputy in the ninth Saeima and the deputy speaker of the Saeima since November of 2006. From April to November of 2006 she was the Minister for Special Assignments for Society Integration Affairs, and from 1998 to 2002 she was the Minister for Culture. Pētersone has also served as a deputy in the seventh Saeima; a deputy in the Riga City Council and the chairperson of the Committee for Culture, Art, and Religion; an advisor and assistant to the Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development; the speaker of the fifth Saeima; the assistant to the chairperson of the Highest Council of the Republic of Latvia; and the senior instructor at the University of Latvia’s Philology Department. Pētersone has written many articles of literary criticism and articles on social and political processes in Latvia. She has also translated poetry, prose, and plays, from the English.

Dr. Atis Zakatistovs is an instructor at the Riga Business School and a transition-management consultant. Zakatistovs plans to contribute to the Latvian National Library Foundation’s activities by, first, using the library when preparing for university courses and teaching (drawing on his academic experience acquired in Canada); and second, getting the public involved in the development of the library (drawing on his process-management experience acquired in Latvia).