On Thursday, October 5, at 5:30 p.m., the opening of the book “When War Becomes Personal” and a meeting with the book’s author Juris Ulmanis – an entrepreneur, professor, guest lecturer at several universities in Latvia and abroad, polar explorer and mountaineer, as well as the author of several publications and books – will take place at the Ventspils Main Library. He has also been a member of the National Guard for five years.
National Guardsman and mountaineer Juris Alberts Ulmanis has traveled to Ukraine many times since the beginning of the war to deliver things to the front that soldiers have asked him to provide. This war is very personal to him, he has also lost his friends.
Ulmanis is also a mountaineer. On May 17, 2023, a team of eight people, which in addition to Ulmanis also included Latvian A. Balodis and six Nepalese, reached the summit of the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest, at an altitude of 8848 m. Ulmanis raised the flags of both Latvia and Ukraine, as well as the coat of arms/shield of the National Guard, to the summit. The Ukrainian flag was brought to the summit of Everest in honor of all the defenders of Ukraine, and was given to him by the Honorary Consul of Latvia in Ukraine, who lost three sons in the war. Ulmanis' dream would be to pass this flag on to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
