 Skujenieks' political career began as one of the leading Social Democratic members of the Democratic Bloc, and as such he was included in the Tautas padome and co-chaired the meeting which declared the independence of Latvia on 18 November 1918.In 1919 he went to the Paris Peace Conference to lobby for the international recognition of Latvia.From 1919 until 1940 he led the State Statistics Department, leaving this post only for the duration of ministerial or prime ministerial duties.