President of Latvia

Egils Levits, President of Latvia (elected on May 29, 2019)

Egils Levits (born 30 June 1955) is a Latvian lawyer, political scientist and judge who is the President of Latvia since July 8, 2019. He has been a Member of the European Court of Justice since 2004.

During the late Soviet-era he was a member of the Popular Front of Latvia and contributed to the declaration of renewed Latvian independence in 1990. He was Vice-Prime Minister and Minister for Justice of Latvia from 1993 to 1994 and ambassador to Hungary, Austria and Switzerland from 1994 to 1995. He was then appointed a Judge of the European Court of Human Rights, a position he held until 2004. He finished second in the indirect election for President of Latvia in 2015 behind Raimonds Vējonis. Although an Independent, he was the candidate of the National Alliance. In 2018 Levits was reappointed a Judge of the European Court of Justice. He is married and has two children, a son, Linards, and daughter, Indra. He published a book of memoirs in 2019.

Levits is married to Andra Levita, a gynecologist, and has a son named Linards and a daughter named Indra. In 2019 Levits released his first book Valstsgriba. Idejas un domas Latvijai 1985–2018 (English: Country’s Will: Ideas and thoughts for Latvia 1985–2018) where he mentions articles, interviews and combines them with his personal opinion as a Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egils_Levits

Raimonds Vejonis, Former President of Latvia (elected on Jun 3, 2015. took office on Jul 8, 2015)

Raimonds Vējonis (born June 15, 1966 in Pskov Oblast, USSR) is a Latvian politician of the Green Party and the incumbent Minister of Defence of Latvia. On June 3, 2015 he was elected President of Latvia and will take office on July 8, 2015. He served as Minister of Environment and Regional development in 2002 and in 2011 and as Minister of the Environment from 2003 to 2011, while the Ministry of Regional development was a separate department.

Vējonis was born on June 15, 1966 in Pskov Oblast to a Latvian father and a Russian mother, while his father was serving in the Soviet army there. He grew up in Sarkaņi and attended school in the nearby town of Madona. He graduated from Faculty of Biology of the University of Latvia in 1989 and obtained a Masters degree from it in 1995. During his studies he worked as a biology teacher in Madona. From 1989 to 1996 he was deputy director of Madona Regional Environmental board. He was a member of Madona city council from 1990 to 1993. From 1996 to 2002 he was director of Greater Riga Regional Environmental board, during this period he also was a board member in Skulte port and served as state representative at Getliņi Eko waste management company.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raimonds_V%C4%93jonis

Andris Berzins, Former President of Latvia (since June 8, 2011)

Andris Bērziņš was born in 1944 in Nītaure, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union. In 1958 he completed studies at a Nītaure primary school, and attended the 1st middle school of Sigulda from 1958 to 1962. He then began studying at the Riga Polytechnical Institute, which he graduated in 1971, and became a radio engineer at the “Elektrons” factory. He worked his way up to director and in 1988 was appointed deputy minister of municipal services of the Latvian SSR. He also studied at the Economic Faculty of the Latvian State University, which he graduated in 1988.

In 1989 Bērziņš was elected to the Valmiera district Council (Soviet) of People’s Deputies and was appointed chairman of the district’s executive commission. In 1990 he was elected to the Supreme Council of the Latvian SSR, representing Valmiera. He joined the Latvian Popular Front faction in the Supreme Council. On May 04, 1990 he voted in favor of the declaration that restored the independence of the Republic of Latvia.

After the completion of his term as deputy in 1993, Bērziņš became chairman of the Privatization Fund of the Bank of Latvia. He also became president of Latvijas Unibanka (a joint-stock company). Bērziņš became a successful businessman and his estate exceeded 1 000 000 lats (by the mid 2000s). He also owned 30 various land properties. Bērziņš worked as an advisor to the president of SEB and was a board member of several joint-stock companies, including Valmiera stikla šķiedra (Valmiera fiberglass) and Lode.

Andris Bērziņš returned to politics in 2005, when he unsuccessfully ran for the office of Mayor of Riga as the leader of the Union of Greens and Farmers party list. From 2006 to 2010 he served as the president of the Latvian Chamber of Industry and Commerce and was also Latvenergo’s board chairman (until 2009).
In 2010 Andris Bērziņš was |elected deputy of the Saeima as a member of the Union of Greens and Farmers

From 1993 to 2004, Andris Bērziņš was the President of Unibanka.

On May 23, 2011 Andris Bērzinš was nominated a presidential candidate by 5 Union of Greens and Farmers deputies.

In the first round of the election, Bērziņš got 50 votes for and 48 against, while Valdis Zatlers got 43 for and 55 against (99 lawmakers cast votes, but one was invalid), meaning no one was elected. In the second round, held later on the same day, Bērziņš got 53 votes, winning the election. Andris Bērziņš takes office as president of Latvia on 8 July 2011.

Valdis Zatlers, Former President of Latvia

Valdis Zatlers, President of the Republic of Latvia, was elected on 31 May 2007 by the Parliament for a four-year term.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Personal data
Nationality: Latvian
Citizenship: Citizen of the Republic of Latvia
Date of Birth: 22 March,1955

Education
1990.-1991. — 6 months’ professional training in orthopedia in Yale University and Syracuse University, USA
1973.-1979. — Specialty of physician,Riga Institute of Medicine
1962.-1973. — Riga Secondary School No. 50, Latvia

Language knowledge
Latvian – native
English – fluent
Russian – fluent

Work experience
08.07.2007.-to date — President of Latvia
2004.-08.07.2007. — Board Chairman, State Limited Liability Company Hospital of Traumatology and Orthopaedics
1998.-2004. — Director, Board Chairman, non-profit organization State Limited Liability Company Hospital of Traumatology and Orthopaedics
1994.-1998. — Director, State Hospital of Traumatology and Orthopaedics
1995.-1999. — Co-ordinator from the Latvian side in a Swiss Confederation Assistance Project
1985.-1994. — Head of the Traumatology Department, Riga City Hospital No.2
1979.-1985. — Traumatologist – orthopaedist, Riga Hospital No.2

International professional activities
2004.-2007. — Lectures on knee joint endoprosthetics and bone tissue transplantation in Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Russia
2002. — Participant of the international research on knee joint endoprosthetics
1993. — to date – Member of the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (ISACOS)
1992. — Honorary member of the Georgian Association of Orthopaedics and Traumatology

International research reports
2006. — Congress of the Hungarian Association of Orthopaedics Association
2002., 2004. — Congress of the Orthopaedist Association of Central Europe
2004. — 25-year Experience Symposium of Zweimuller Endoprothesis
2002. — Congress of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology on Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy
2001. — Congress of the European Federation of the Associations of Orthopaedists
2001. — Congress of the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery, and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (ISAKOS)
2001. — International Congress on Shoulder Surgery
1994. — Arthroscopy Congress of Poland

Professional activities
2003.-to date — President of the Latvian Association of Traumatology and Orthopaedics
1994.-1998. — Vice President of the Latvian Association of Arthroscopy, Chairman of the Certification Commission
1990.-1993. — Founder and President of the Latvian Association of Arthroscopy

Public activities
1988.-1989. — Board Member of the Latvian Popular Front
1988.-1989. — Activist for the renewal of the Latvian Physicians Association, Board Member

Awards
2007. — Three-Star Order, fourth class
1993. — Prize from International Arthroscopy Association (IAA) for the largest contribution into the development of arthroscopy in emerging countries

Other important information
May-June, 1996 — Medical Service Officer, Work on the Elimination of the Consequences of the Chernoby Nuclear Power Plant Catastrophe

Text by: The Chancery of the President of Latvia