The politics of Latvia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic,whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government,and of a multi-party system. The President holds a primarily ceremonial role as Head of State. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament,the Saeima. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Latvia a "flawed democracy" in 2022.
The Union of Greens and Farmers is an agrarian political alliance in Latvia. It is made up of the Latvian Farmers' Union,Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party,and For Latvia and Ventspils.
Artis Pabriks is a Latvian politician. Since January 2019 he has been the Minister for Defence and Deputy Prime Minister of Latvia. From 2014 to 2018,he was a Member of the European Parliament.
Andris Šķēle is a Latvian former politician and business oligarch. He served two terms as Prime Minister of Latvia from 1995 to 1997,and again from 1999 to 2000.
Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš is an American-Latvian politician who served as the prime minister of Latvia from 2019 until 2023. A linguist and businessman by profession,he previously served as Latvia's minister of Economics and a Member of the European Parliament. Born in Wilmington,Delaware,United States,to parents who had left Latvia during the Soviet occupation,he was active in the American Latvian community throughout his youth.
Parliamentary elections were held in Latvia on 6 October 2018. Following the elections,a coalition government was formed by Who owns the state?,the New Conservative Party,Development/For!,the National Alliance and New Unity. Despite being from the smallest elected party,Arturs Krišjānis Kariņšof New Unity was chosen as prime minister.
Unity is a liberal-conservative political party in Latvia. It is a member of the New Unity alliance and is positioned on the centre-right on the political spectrum. Since 2017,its chairman of the Main Board has been the former Minister for Economics of Latvia,Arvils Ašeradens,who succeeded former European Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
The National Alliance,officially the National Alliance "All for Latvia!" –"For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK",is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Latvia. A right-wing party,it has also been placed as the far right,or radical right,of the political spectrum. It is economically liberal.
Māris Kučinskis is a Latvian politician,who served as the prime minister of Latvia,from 2016 to 2019.
The New Unity is a centre-right political alliance in Latvia. Its members are Unity and four other regional parties,and it is orientated towards liberal-conservatism and liberalism.
Edgars Rinkēvičs is a Latvian public official and politician serving as the 11th and current president of Latvia since July 2023. He previously served as the minister of foreign affairs of Latvia from 2011 to 2023,and 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.
Laimdota Straujuma is a Latvian economist who was the prime minister of Latvia from January 2014 to February 2016. Before her tenure as prime minister,she served as the minister of Agriculture from 2011 to 2014. She was the first woman to serve as the head of government of the country. After her resignation on 7 December 2015,she announced her intention to resume a seat in the Saeima.
The First Straujuma cabinet was the government of Latvia from 22 January to 5 November 2014. It was the first government to be led by Laimdota Straujuma,who was Prime Minister between 2014 and 2016. It took office on 22 January 2014,after the resignation of Valdis Dombrovskis and was abolished on November 5 the same year at the formation of the Second Straujuma cabinet.
Laimdota is a feminine Latvian given name,borne by over 600 individuals in Latvia. Its name day is February 11.
Events in the year 2014 in Latvia.
The Second Straujuma cabinet was the government of Latvia from 5 November 2014 to 11 February 2016. It was the second government to be led by Laimdota Straujuma,who was the Prime Minister from 2014 to 2016. It took office after the October 2014 parliamentary election,succeeding the first Straujuma cabinet,which lasted 8 months.
Events in the year 2015 in Latvia.
Jānis Reirs is a Latvian politician who served as Minister of Finance in the first Kariņšcabinet from 2019 until 2022,as well as Minister for Welfare in the Kučinskis cabinet from 2016 until 2019 and Minister of Finance in the second Straujuma cabinet.
Dace Melbārde is a Latvian politician. She is a member of New Unity,having defected from the National Alliance in 2022 and was the Latvian minister of culture from 2013 to 2019. In May 2019,representing the political party National Alliance,she was elected as a Member of the European Parliament,where she joined the European Conservatives and Reformists group.
Evika Siliņa is a Latvian lawyer and politician who has been serving as the prime minister of Latvia since 15 September 2023. From 2022 to 2023,she served as Minister of Welfare in the second cabinet of prime minister Krišjānis Kariņš. She is a member of the Unity political party,and the second female head of government of Latvia.
