Edgars Rinkevics, who has served as Latvia’s foreign minister since 2011, was elected the country’s president for the next four years in late May and officially took office on Saturday. Rinkevics, 49, is known for his particularly tough stance on Russia, which Latvia borders, and for his strong support for Ukraine. He is also one of the few LGBTQ+ heads of state in Europe, having come out as gay in 2014.
In Latvia, the role of the president is not only symbolic: he shares executive power with the government and the prime minister, represents Latvia in international relations, appoints its diplomatic representatives abroad and implements decisions relating to the ratification of international agreements. In case of war, he is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and has the right to appoint a “supreme commander”. Furthermore, he has to sign all laws, appoints the prime minister and has the power to dissolve parliament.
In his inaugural speech Rinkevics announced that Latvia’s foreign and security policy will remain the same and that the Baltic country will continue to “strongly and effectively represent NATO” and “support the heroic Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom until the final victory of Ukraine. We will continue to fight against Russian imperialism and its evil ideology.”