Latvia is a parliamentary republic. This system was initially established on November 18, 1918.

Its de facto sovereignty and independence ended with, the invasion of the USSR on June 1940,which was followed by the illegal Soviet annexation of Latvia as a USSR republic, Nazi occupation (1941-45) and a further 46 years of Soviet occupation (1945-91).

Both the Declaration of the Renewal of the Independence of the Republic of Latvia dated May 4, 1990 and the August 21, 1991 declaration re-establishing de facto independence, proclaimed the authority of the Satversme (Constitution). The highest legislative body in Latvia is the one-chamber Saeima (Parliament), whose 100 deputies are elected for three years in direct, proportionally representative elections by citizens 18 years of age and over.

The House of Parliament.