| Frīdrihs Vesmanis | |
| Office: | People's Council of Latvia |
| Term Start: | July 1919 |
| Term End: | August 1919 |
| Office1: | Mayor of Jelgava |
| Term Start1: | February 1920 |
| Term End1: | May 1920 |
| Office2: | Speaker of the Saeima |
| Predecessor2: | Position established |
| Successor2: | Pauls Kalniņš |
| Term Start2: | 7 November 1922 |
| Term End2: | 17 March 1925 |
| President2: | Jānis Čakste |
| Primeminister2: | Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics Jānis Pauļuks Voldemārs Zāmuēls Hugo Celmiņš |
| Office3: | Latvian Ambassador to the United Kingdom |
| Term Start3: | February 1925 |
| Term End3: | March 1932 |
| Predecessor3: | Position established |
| Successor3: | Kārlis Reinholds Zariņš |
| Office4: | Senate of the Supreme Court of Latvia |
| Term Start4: | March 1932 |
| Term End4: | 1934 |
| Birth Date: | 15 April 1875 |
| Birth Place: | Rundāle Parish, Kurzeme, Russian Empire (now Latvia) |
| Death Date: | 7 December 1941 (aged 66) |
| Death Place: | Usollag, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Party: | LSDSP |
| Profession: | Lawyer |
| Alma Mater: | University of Tartu Saint Petersburg State University |
| Awards: | Order of the Three Stars, 2nd Class (1926) |
Frīdrihs Vesmanis (April 15, 1875 – December 7, 1941) was a Latvian lawyer and politician for the LSDWP and the first Speaker of the Saeima.
Vesmanis was born on April 15, 1875, in Rundāle Parish to Kārļa Vesmaņa and Elizabetes Vesmanes (née Straumanes).[1] After graduating from Jelgava Gymnasium, Vesmanis studied at the University of Tartu.[2] He was arrested in 1897, and after his arrest, emigrated to England in 1899, where he published in the newspapers Sociāldemokrāts and Latviešu Strādnieks. In 1903, however, he was illegally returned to Latvia, but was promptly arrested and deported to a camp in Šiauliai. In 1909, he graduated from St. Petersburg University. Until 1918, Vesmanis has been a lawyer in Jelgava and St. Petersburg, as well as working in journalism. In April 1918, he returned to Latvia. He married Berta Krisone.
In 1919, from July to August, Vesmanis was a member of the People's Council of Latvia. In 1920, from February to May, he was the mayor of Jelgava, but later worked in the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia. In 1922, after founding the Central Election Commission, Vesmanis was one of the eight original members.[3] He was elected to the 1st Saeima from the LSDWP and was the first Speaker of the Saeima. From February 1925 to March 1932, Vesmanis was the ambassador of Latvia in the United Kingdom. In 1927, after the death of Jānis Čakste, he was one of the candidates for the position of President.[4] He retired in 1937.
He received the Order of the Three Stars 2nd Class in 1926.[5]
On June 14, 1941, Vesmanis and his wife were arrested for being a "Socialist leader in [the] extreme right direction." Berta died two days later while on a train at Krustpils Station, while Vesmanis was sent to the Solikamsk Penitentiary, and died on December 7 at Umolya Penitentiary in Surmog.