On Wednesday, May 31, 2023, lawmakers in Latvia’s parliament elected the country’s long-serving and popular Foreign Minister, Edgars Rinkevics as its new President.
Edgars Rinkevics, the nation’s senior diplomat since 2011, was chosen by the 100-seat Saeima assembly to serve as President for a four-year term.
Rinkevics garnered 52 votes, which was one more than what was needed to win the contest. Egils Levits, the current Head of state of Latvia since 2019, decided not to run for reelection.
The former Soviet countries of the Baltic region, where attitudes toward sexual minorities have been less accepting than in western Europe, will now have their first openly gay President in Rinkevics, who declared in 2014 that he is “proudly” homosexual.
His closest rival, businessman Uldis Pilens, got 25 votes in the third round of voting between the two remaining contenders after the third candidate, Elina Pinto, had dropped out of the contest.
After the vote, Rinkevics tweeted that he was “honored and humbled” by the Parliament’s decision and pledged “to serve the people of Latvia well.”
The defense ministry’s state secretary and a journalist for Latvian Radio were among the positions that 49-year-old Rinkevics held in the 1990s. He has earned great popularity among Latvians as foreign minister due to his tough stance toward the neighboring Russian and his constant support for Ukraine, which is being attacked by Moscow.
In a subsequent press conference, Rinkevics asked nations to send Ukraine positive signals about the likelihood of NATO membership at the forthcoming summit of the military alliance in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.
“It is important that the decisions made at the NATO Madrid (2022) summit are implemented,” the President-elect said, as quoted by the Baltic News Service.
The incumbent Head of state, Egils Levits had been expected to seek reelection. However, in a surprise move announced earlier this month, Levits said he was disappointed that parties in Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins’ three-party coalition government had not been able to agree on a joint candidate, and said he would not run in such a situation.
Rinkevics To Be Inaugurated In July
Latvia’s President-elect, Edgars Rinkevics, is due to be inaugurated on July 8, 2023.
The country’s presidency is mainly a ceremonial post and the Head of state acts mainly as an opinion leader and uniting figure in the country where almost a third of residents speak Russian. Rinkevics ran as the candidate of his and Karins’ New Unity party.
The President, among other duties, represents Latvia overseas, serves as the military’s top commander, enacts laws, appoints the Prime Minister, and has the authority to dissolve the legislature.
With 1.9 million people, Latvia is a Baltic country that borders Lithuania to the south, Estonia to the north, and Russia to the east. Since 2004, Latvia has belonged to both NATO and the European Union. A substantial ethnic Russian community, many of whom are Russian nationals, resides in the nation.
Latvia regained its independence in 1991 amid the fall of the Soviet Union following nearly 50 years of Moscow’s occupation and rule. Counting from the country’s first independence declared in 1918, the new President will be Latvia’s 11th head of state.
