Alfrēds Rubiks

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Rubiks in 2012

Alfrēds Rubiks (Russian: Альфред Петрович Рубикс; born 24 September 1935 in Daugavpils) is a Latvian communist politician and a former leader of the Communist Party of Latvia. He was a Member of the European Parliament for Latvia from 2009 until 2014. In the European Parliament he was a member of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left group.

He served as the Chairman of the city of Riga from 1984 to 1990, effectively the last Communist mayor of the city. He was member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from July 1990 until the party was banned on November 6, 1991. As head of the Communist Party of Latvia in 1991 he opposed Latvia's independence from the Soviet Union, and was imprisoned on 23 August 1991^[1][2] for his role in attempting to overthrow the then new democratic government and supporting the August 1991 coup d'état attempt in Moscow.^[3][4][5] Despite his incarceration, Rubiks was a candidate in the 1996 election for the President of Latvia, but lost to incumbent Guntis Ulmanis.^[6] Rubiks was released in November 1997 for good behavior,^[7] became chairman of the Socialist Party of Latvia, the de facto successor to the Communist Party, in 1999 and was elected a Member of the European Parliament in the 2009 European Parliament elections.^[8]

Due to his former allegiance with the Communist Party of Latvia after January 1991, Rubiks is prohibited from running for an electable office in Latvia under Latvian law.^[9] His two sons Artūrs Rubiks and Raimonds Rubiks are however members of the Saeima for Harmony.

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