Latvian Foreign Minister Rinkēvičs elected president
Rinkēvičs met with the European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis yesterday to discuss current issues of European Union’s foreign trade policy and Ukraine’s support
The 49-year-old has served as the top Latvian diplomat since 2011 and had been a long-term vocal supporter of Ukraine against Russian aggression, especially since Russia launched its full-scale invasion last year.
Rinkēvičs will now assume the largely ceremonial role of president after his predecessor, Egils Levits, declined to run for a second term due to a clear and marked lack of popularity
“I will do everything for our country to prosper and be secure,” Rinkevics said after the parliamentary vote.
Rinkēvičs expected to be a Pro-Western president
Rinkēvičs won 52 of the 87 votes that were cast for the presidential role. Prior to the vote, he had been seen as the strongest candidate, but this had been thrown into doubt due to some disagreement between the three major parties of the ruling coalition. The other main presidential candidate, Uldis Pilens, a prominent Architect and businessman was outflanked by the maneuvering of the three main parties receiving only 24 votes in the final ballot.
Whilst foreign minister ,..the longest-serving in Latvia’s history, Rinkēvičs promoted a pro-Western and pro-EU agenda all the while highlighting his country’s role, along with Estonia and Lithuania, as NATO’s eastern flank, bordering Russia.
The Latvian foreign minister has played a very significant role in coalescing Europe and ensuring NATO was united on Ukraine.
He has also repeatedly pushed for Ukraine’s accession to both the European Union and NATO in the short term.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, welcomed the German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock, on her first visit to Latvia in april 2022 .The Ministers exchanged views on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, and the strong response measures required by NATO and the European Union through sanctions against Russia and continuing their assistance to Ukraine in every possible way.
Currently, it is s not clear who would replace him as head of the Foreign Ministry.
In accepting his new role in the Latvian Saiema ,..the President elect said “I will do everything so that our country thrives, that it is safe and that our society holds strongly together,” Rinkevics said after the vote.
He will assume his new role only on July the 8th when President Levits’ term ends.
Latvia’s first gay president
“The election of the foreign minister to the Presidency has also given the Baltic country its first openly gay head of state.”
The President elect Rinkēvičs came out in 2014, openly declaring his Gay orientation on his Twitter account and in effect, becoming the first prominent political figures in Latvia and Europe to do so.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated the new president and called him a “true friend of Ukraine.”
The former President Egils Levits also expressed his support for Rinkevics saying “Latvia will be in safe hands during the next four years,”
“I will do everything so that our country thrives, that it is safe and that our society holds strongly together,” Rinkevics said after the vote.
Pro-Western president
Rinkevics won 52 of the 87 votes that were cast for the presidential role. He had been seen as the strongest candidate, but this had been thrown into a bit of doubt thanks to a disagreement between the three parties of the ruling coalition.
As foreign minister — the longest-serving in Latvia’s history — Rinkevics pushed a pro-Western and pro-EU agenda all while highlighting his country’s role as NATO’s eastern flank, bordering Russia.
He also repeatedly pushed for Ukraine’s accession to both the European Union and NATO.
It was not yet clear who would replace him as head of the Foreign Ministry.
“I will do everything so that our country thrives, that it is safe and that our society holds strongly together,” Rinkevics said after the vote.
ab/msh (AFP, dpa)
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Latvia’s parliament elected long-time Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics as the Baltic nation’s new president, making him the European Union’s first openly gay head of state.
Fifty-two lawmakers in the 100-seat legislature in Riga voted for Rinkevics, who has served as Latvia’s top envoy for almost 12 years, to succeed President Egils Levits. Appointed by Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins’s ruling party earlier this month, Rinkevics has been a consistent advocate for supporting Ukraine and a strident critic of the Kremlin.
Latvia’s parliament elected long-time Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics as the Baltic nation’s new president, making him the European Union’s first openly gay head of state.
Fifty-two lawmakers in the 100-seat legislature in Riga voted for Rinkevics, who has served as Latvia’s top envoy for almost 12 years, to succeed President Egils Levits. Appointed by Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins’s ruling party earlier this month, Rinkevics has been a consistent advocate for supporting Ukraine and a strident critic of the Kremlin.
Edgars Rinkēvičs (born 21 September 1973) is a Latvian public official and politician, the Minister of Foreignthe Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia since 2011 and the President-elect of Latvia. When he takes office as president, he will be the first openly gay head of state in a European Union country.[1] Before becoming minister, he served as head of the Chancery of the President of Latvia, as State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, as well as a deputy of the Saeima.
Having previously represented Latvian Way and the Reform Party, he has been a member of the Unity party since May 2014.
Early life and education[edit]
Rinkēvičs was born in Jūrmala, where he completed high school in 1991.[2] Upon graduating from high school, he started a bachelor’s degree at the University of Latvia‘s Faculty of History and Philosophy, which he acquired in 1995. During the same time, in 1994 and 1995 he studied Political Science and International Relations at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, for which he received a certificate in 1995.[3] In 1997, he obtained his master’s degree in political science, followed by a second master’s degree from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy,[a] obtained in 2000.[2][4]
Early life and education
Rinkēvičs was born in Jūrmala, where he completed high school in 1991.[2] Upon graduating from high school, he started a bachelor’s degree at the University of Latvia‘s Faculty of History and Philosophy, which he acquired in 1995. During the same time, in 1994 and 1995 he studied Political Science and International Relations at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, for which he received a certificate in 1995.[3] In 1997, he obtained his master’s degree in political science, followed by a second master’s degree from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy,[a] obtained in 2000.[2][4]
Career[edit]
In 1993 and 1994, Rinkēvičs worked as a journalist reporting on foreign policy and international relations at Latvian Radio, while still studying.[6] In 1995, he took the job as senior referent in the Policy Department of the Ministry of Defence, a role he held until March 1996, when he became acting leader of the Policy Department, a role he occupied until September the same year, when he was made acting Deputy Secretary of State for Defence.[7] In May 1997, he became acting Secretary of State for Defence, before becoming the main Secretary of State for Defence in August 1997, a role he possessed until October 2008.[7]
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Rinkevics meets with U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo at the U.S. Department of State on 27 February 2020.
Between 1998 and 2004, Rinkēvičs was a member of the Latvian Way party.[7] In February 1998, he became involved in discussion on the US-Baltic Partnership Charter, and from 2002 to 2003 was a member of the Latvian delegation negotiating accession to NATO as Latvia’s Deputy Head of Delegation. In 2008, he was appointed as Head of the Chancery of the President of Latvia, a role he held until July 2011.[7] In October of the same year, Rinkēvičs joined Valdis Dombrovskis‘ third cabinet as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Initially an independent, he joined the Zatlers’ Reform Party in January 2012.[8] In May 2014, Rinkēvičs joined the Unity party.[9]
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Rinkēvičs with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on 7 March, 2022
Following the resignation of the Dombrovskis cabinet in 2014, he continued his ministerial roles in Laimdota Straujuma‘s first cabinet. In 2014 he stood in the parliamentary elections and was elected to parliament before again being confirmed to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs, this time in Straujuma’s second cabinet.[6] He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2019 in the Kučinskis cabinet and since 2019 in the Kariņš cabinet.
He was elected president of Latvia on 31 May 2023.[10]
Political positions[edit]
Rinkēvičs said he welcomed the news about the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and Bahrain.[11]
Rinkēvičs expressed deep concern over the escalation of hostilities in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately halt fighting and progress towards a peaceful resolution.[12]
Personal life[edit]
On 6 November 2014, he publicly announced on his Twitter profile that he is gay,[13][14] making him the first lawmaker in Latvia to announce his homosexuality, as well as the first openly gay head of state in a EU country.[15][1] In addition to Latvian, he is fluent in English, Russian, and French.
