Tatyana Zdanok Doctor of Mathematics, Latvian politician Date of Birth: 08.05.1950 Country: Latvia

1. Biography of Tatjana Ždanoka
2. Education and Early Career
3. Political Career
4. Controversies and Legal Challenges

Biography of Tatjana Ždanoka

Tatjana Arkadyevna Ždanoka is a Latvian mathematician and political figure. She was born on May 8, 1950, in Riga. Her father, Arkady Yakovlevich Hesin, was a participant in the Great Patriotic War and a specialist in radar, while her mother, Tamara Ivanovna, was a mathematics teacher.

Education and Early Career

Ždanoka graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at the University of Latvia in 1972. She continued her education at the University of Latvia and the University of Montpellier. In 1980, she obtained a candidate of physical and mathematical sciences degree. From 1972 to 1990, she worked as a mathematics teacher at the University of Latvia. In 1975, she married Alexander Ždanoka, but their marriage ended by the late 1980s.

Political Career

Ždanoka was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). In 1988, she joined the Popular Front of Latvia (NFL). However, as the Popular Front became more nationalist and aimed for the restoration of Latvian independence, Ždanoka became involved in the opposition movement, the International Front of Workers of the Latvian SSR. In 1989, she was elected as a deputy of the Riga City Council and in 1990, she became a deputy of the Supreme Council of Latvia. In 1992, she obtained a doctorate in mathematics and became one of the founders of the Latvian Human Rights Committee.

Ždanoka later became a leader of the "Equal Rights" movement and a consultant for its faction in the Parliament of Latvia. From 1995 to 2004, she served as the co-chairperson of the Latvian Human Rights Committee. In 1996, she successfully obtained Latvian citizenship through a court decision. She became the chairperson of the "Equal Rights" party when the movement transformed into a political party.

In 2001, Ždanoka became the leader of the "Equal Rights" party and in 2004, she was elected as a Member of the European Parliament. In 2009 and 2014, she was re-elected as a Member of the European Parliament representing the Russian Union of Latvia.

Controversies and Legal Challenges

Ždanoka faced several controversies and legal challenges throughout her career. In 1999, she was stripped of her mandate by a court due to her activities in the Communist Party of Latvia in 1991. She appealed this decision and also challenged the law prohibiting her from running for the Latvian Parliament, taking her case to the European Court of Human Rights.

In 2004, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of Ždanoka, but the decision was later overturned in 2006 by the Grand Chamber in favor of the Latvian government. In 2018, Ždanoka was excluded from the electoral list by the Central Election Commission for the Latvian Parliament, and despite her appeal, the decision was upheld by the court. She then turned to the European Court of Human Rights again, and her complaint was communicated in 2021.

Despite these challenges, Ždanoka was re-elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2019, continuing her political career.