Latvian Academy of Sciences president Kalviņš considers resigning over citizenship recommendation

Ivars Kalviņš, president of the Latvian Academy of Sciences (LZA), is considering stepping down. This follows an open letter to the public and media about his recommendation that Latvian citizenship be granted to Indian national Divya Vishwanath. The Saeima, Latvia's parliament, had granted her citizenship, but doubts later emerged about her education and scientific publications.

Kalviņš's explanation

Kalviņš says he prepared the recommendation using information from the LZA's cooperation partner, the company LZA Ekonomikas institūts, about Vishwanath's academic education, publications, international research cooperation and investments in research and production infrastructure in Latvia. According to him, colleagues told him only on 21 October about possible grounds to question the content and authorship of the publications listed on her website.

He also admits that a mistake was made when the electronic signature was prepared: his personal opinion was formatted and sent as an LZA document. Kalviņš stresses that the recommendation was not the academy's official position, takes responsibility for the error and apologises to colleagues and the public. He says he did not intend to harm the LZA's reputation or undermine public trust in scientists. He will coordinate any decision to leave the post with a decision of the LZA General Assembly.

The Saeima's decision

On Thursday the Saeima adopted, under an urgency procedure, a law that declared invalid, with immediate effect, the law passed a week earlier granting Vishwanath citizenship. The amendments were submitted by deputies of the party New Unity.

The Saeima's Citizenship, Migration and Social Cohesion Committee had stated in its rationale that Vishwanath is an Indian citizen with a doctorate in computer science, working in information technology, data science, artificial intelligence and pharmaceutical research. Since 2024 she has been head of the artificial intelligence laboratory at the company Dr. Vishys. According to firmas.lv data, the company is owned by Kanan Vishwanath and has in recent years operated with no turnover and losses of more than 200,000 euros.

President Edgars Rinkēvičs urged parliament to resolve the doubts and, if necessary, review the law. Vishwanath herself has rejected the criticism, claiming that the documents submitted to the Saeima are genuine and have been verified.