The book’s title A Small Mound derives from a Latvian saying “A small mound fells a giant load”, expressing a sentiment similar to “Great oaks from little acorns grow”, and it leads the reader into the recent past – to the 1990s – when, like a phoenix from the ashes, the Latvian foreign service was reborn. The work abounds with humour, healthy self-criticism and self-irony, recalling a time when Latvia, only having recently regained independence, had to build up a diplomatic service from virtually nothing. The book vividly describes the first awkward steps in learning about international protocol as well as the adoption of historically significant decisions for the country, right up to the present day. Some episodes reveal the difficulties faced by Kalniete and her colleagues, such as the diplomatic tussle in France over the restitution of property belonging to the state of Latvia, and attempts to promote the recognizability of the state. Based on personal experiences, this book discloses new incidents, until now not known to the broader public, and also expands on already known facts from the viewpoint of a politician. It’s not quite history yet, but it’s the details, the bits and pieces in the background which, when merged together, create the material from which researchers at some later date will distill history.

Contact: Renāte Punka, renate.punka@jr.lv