Who is President Bush????????s favorite choice to become Secretary General of the United Nations? Look for the United States to support the President of Latvia, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, to replace Kofi Annan when his term expires Dec. 31.

Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the President of Latvia, has a history that has taught her the importance of democracy and freedom. President Vike-Freiberga was born in Riga, Latvia in 1937. During World War II Latvia was occupied by the Russians, then the Germans, then again by the Russians, and then was forced to join the Soviet Union at the close of the war.

After the war Ms. Vike-Freiberga????????s family fled the oppression of the USSR and went to Germany, where they lived in refugee camps before moving to French Morocco. Subsequently they settled in Canada when she was 16 years old. She had a distinguished academic career in Canada, becoming a professor of psychology with a specialization in the relationship between thought and language. She was also well known in the Latvian community as an author of several books and a collector of Latvian folk songs.

After the fall of the Soviet Union Ms. Vike-Freiberga moved back to Latvia to head the Latvian Institute. Then unexpectedly she was drafted to become Latvia????????s President and won election. In a male dominated country known for political corruption, she has managed to win reelection, and has maintained the image of being extremely honest and not beholden to any cliques or parties. She has often been compared to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and has been called the Baltic Iron Lady. President Vike-Freiberga supported the Iraq invasion, and she said at the time that the experiences of the Baltic states and other post-communist governments in Europe had given them firsthand experience in the need to stand up to a tyrannical government before it is too late. Latvia is one of the countries that have a small number of troops in Iraq. During the lead up to the Iraq war French President Chirac criticized some of the former Soviet Union countries for supporting an invasion of Iraq. Chirac stated that, “immature Central and East European nations missed a great opportunity to shut up” over the divisive Iraq issue. President Vike-Freiberga was visiting Washington, DC at the time and she responded to Chirac????????s comments by saying, “We did stick our neck out, and we will not pull it back.” She went on to say that, “My predecessor in 1939 hoped to keep a low profile, and it didn’t work. We have seen the results of appeasement. It is much easier to tolerate a dictator when he is dictating over somebody else’s life and not your own. I don’t think we can find security by hiding away in a hidey-hole. In our history, we have learned that our only chance for real security is standing with our allies and hoping they will stand by us.” Many Americans were so impressed with her comments that they flooded the Latvian Embassy and the Department of State with phone calls asking what goods were sold by Latvia and what could they do to support Latvia.

President Vike-Freiberga is a favorite of President Bush and he truly appreciates her belief in democracy and freedom. She is also well liked and respected by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Forbes magazine ranked President Vike-Freiberga 48 among The Most Powerful Women In 2005.

Of course her candidacy for the UN post will not be a cakewalk. An important key will be China. China has declared on several occasions that it is time for Asia to assume the Secretary General????????s post. There are several candidates from Asia, including Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka, Surakiart Sathirathai of Thailand, and Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea. And the candidacy of President Vike-Freiberga would cause great angst for Vladimir Putin, as she has been an open critic of Putin and Russia.

Several months ago word was spreading through the security services of several Eastern European countries that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) was going to start a disinformation campaign to discredit President Vike-Freiberga so as to prevent her from becoming the UN Secretary General. The rumors were so strong that the Latvian Security Service (SAB) began an inquiry into the alleged FSB smear campaign. President Vike-Freiberga????????s candidacy for the UN Secretary General post is a problem for Putin, since he does not want it to happen, but would not like to be seen opposing a female from the former Soviet Union.

President Vike-Freiberga would be an honest, strong and tough Secretary General of the United Nations. Her love of freedom and democracy, her distaste for tyrants and oppressors would serve the UN well. Because of this she will probably never make it, but one can only hope.