Academic Centre
Imants J. Ronis (1927–2014) was born in 14 January 1927 in Rundāle civil parish, where his parents owned a farm. In the spring of 1944, he finished the 1st Gymnasium of Riga, and already in summer his family with other refugees left for Germany, where Imants worked as a teacher in a refugee camp.
In 1950, the Ronis family went to Australia where, upon completing his contractual work, he started evening studies in the University of New South Wales (Sydney). In 1963, he received a Bachelor’s degree of Commerce in Accountancy.
He loved books, read extensively, and his job was connected with books – he worked for several publishing houses. Ronis was interested in history, particularly in the history of the Soviet Union, and in 1984, in the New England University, Armidale, he obtained the Bachelor of Arts degree in history.
I. Ronis was an active participant of the Sydney Latvian Society, contributed many articles to Australian periodicals and later – to Latvian papers, was a long-term representative of the Freedom Fund of the World Federation of Free Latvians and a member of the student corporation Selonija.
Imants J. Ronis passed away on 25 July 2014 in Sydney, Australia.
Support
In the years 2003 to 2005, I. Ronis donated EUR 14 230 for 3-year scholarships to support the PhD student of UL Faculty of Business, Economics and Management Džineta Dimante’s doctoral thesis "The Contribution of the Latvians in Exile to the Economy of Latvia".
We greatly appreciate the generous support to education and development!