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| Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia | |
|---|---|
| Latvijas Republikas Ministru prezidents | |
 | |
.jpg) | |
| Government of Latvia | |
| Type | Head of government |
| Member of | |
| Appointer | President |
| Term length | No term limit |
| Inaugural holder | Kārlis Ulmanis |
| Formation | 19 November 1918; 107 years ago (1918-11-19) |
| Abolished | 1940–1991 |
| Salary | €53,601 annually[1] |
Theprime minister of Latvia (Latvian:ministru prezidents) is the most powerful member of theGovernment of Latvia, who presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers. The officeholder is nominated by thepresident of Latvia, but must be able to obtain the support of a parliamentary majority in theSaeima.
The tables below display all Latvian prime ministers from both the first period of Latvian independence (1918–1940) and since the country regained its independence (1990–present). From 1990 to 6 July 1993, the head of government was known as the chairman of the Council of Ministers.
A direct translation of the official Latvian term isminister-president. Although the equivalent is used in some European languages, it is not used conventionally in English.
Political party:
Independent
Latvian Farmers' Union (LZS)
Union of Social Democrats – Mensheviks and Rural Workers (MP)
Democratic Centre (DC)
Progressive Association of New Farmers (PA)
New Farmers-Small Landowners Party (LJSP)
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | Saeima | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Tenure | |||||||
| 1[1] |  | Kārlis Ulmanis (1877–1942) | 18 November 1918 | 13 July 1919 | 2 years, 213 days | Latvian Farmers' Union | Provisional I LZS–LNP–DC–DS | People's Council | |
| 14 July 1919 | 8 December 1919 | Provisional II LZS–LŽNP DC joined later | |||||||
| 9 December 1919 | 11 June 1920 | Provisional III LZS–LŽNP DS joined later | |||||||
| 12 June 1920 | 18 June 1921 | Ulmanis I LZS–DS–LDP DS exited later | Const. Assembly (1920) | ||||||
| 2 |  | Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics (1887–1925) | 19 June 1921 | 19 July 1922 | 1 year, 222 days | Meierovics I LZS–DC–MP–LTP LTP exited later | |||
| 20 July 1922 | 26 January 1923 | Meierovics II LZS–MP–LDP | |||||||
| 3 |  | Jānis Pauļuks (1865–1937) | 27 January 1923 | 27 June 1923 | 152 days | Independent | Pauļuks LZS–LSPDS–DC–LJS–MP | 1st (1922) | |
| (2) | | Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics (1887–1925) | 28 June 1923 | 26 January 1924 | 213 days | Latvian Farmers' Union | Meierovics III LZS–LSPDS–DC–LJS–MP | ||
| 4 |  | Voldemārs Zāmuēls (1872–1948) | 27 January 1924 | 18 December 1924 | 327 days | Independent | Zāmuēls BNC–DC–LJS | ||
| 5 |  | Hugo Celmiņš (1877–1941) | 19 December 1924 | 23 December 1925 | 1 year, 5 days | Latvian Farmers' Union | Celmiņš I LZS–DC MP and LJS joined later | ||
| (1) | | Kārlis Ulmanis (1877–1942) | 24 December 1925 | 6 May 1926 | 134 days | Ulmanis II LZS–LJSP–LJS–LZP NA joined later | 2nd (1925) | ||
| 6 |  | Arturs Alberings (1877–1934) | 7 May 1926 | 18 December 1926 | 226 days | Alberings LZS–DC–LJSP–LJS–LZP | |||
| 7 |  | Marģers Skujenieks (1886–1941) | 19 December 1926 | 23 January 1928 | 1 year, 36 days | Menshevik | Skujenieks I LSDSP–MP–LPP–DC–LJS DC exited cabinet | ||
| 8 |  | Pēteris Juraševskis (1872–1945) | 24 January 1928 | 30 November 1928 | 312 days | Democratic Centre | Juraševskis LZS–DC–LZP–VRP/DbRP | ||
| (5) | | Hugo Celmiņš (1877–1941) | 1 December 1928 | 26 March 1931 | 2 years, 116 days | Latvian Farmers' Union | Celmiņš II LZS–DC–LJSP–LDZA–LA–KNP–VRP/DbRP DC, KNP, VRP / DbRP exited cabinet | 3rd (1928) | |
| (1) | | Kārlis Ulmanis (1877–1942) | 27 March 1931 | 5 December 1931 | 254 days | Ulmanis III LZS–LJSP–LDZA–NA–MKRA–LKZP–LPP | |||
| (7) | | Marģers Skujenieks (1886–1941) | 6 December 1931 | 23 March 1933 | 1 year, 108 days | Progressive Association of New Farmers | Skujenieks II PA–DC–LZS–LZPA LJSP joined later | 4th (1931) | |
| 9 |  | Ādolfs Bļodnieks (1889–1962) | 24 March 1933 | 16 March 1934 | 358 days | Party of New Farmers and Smallholders | Bļodnieks LJSP–LZS–DC–LZPA–PA–LKKP–KDP DC, PA exited cabinet | ||
| (1)[2] | | Kārlis Ulmanis (1877–1942) | 17 March 1934 | 15 May 1934 | 6 years, 95 days | Latvian Farmers' Union | Ulmanis IV LZS–KA–LKKP–LPP–KDP | ||
| 15 May 1934 | 19 June 1940 | Independent | Ulmanis V Independent | ||||||
| —[3] |  | Augusts Kirhenšteins (1872–1963) | 20 June 1940 | 25 August 1940 | 66 days | Independent (Pro-LKP) | Kirhenšteins Independent–LKP | ||
From 1940 to 1990, theRepublic of Latvia was under illegal occupation by theSoviet Union. In place of the internationally recognised republican institutions, the Soviet-installedLatvian Soviet Socialist Republicde-facto governed the country and implemented its own government structures.
Political party:
Communist Party of Latvia (LPK)
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of Office | Political Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Tenure | |||||
| — | .jpg) | Vilis Lācis[2] (1904–1966) | 25 August 1940 | 27 November 1959 | 19 years, 94 days | Communist Party of Latvia | |
| — |  | Jānis Peive (1906–1976) | 27 November 1959 | 23 April 1962 | 2 years, 147 days | Communist Party of Latvia | |
| — | | Vitālijs Rubenis (1914–1994) | 23 April 1962 | 5 May 1970 | 8 years, 12 days | Communist Party of Latvia | |
| — | | Jurijs Rubenis (1925–2004) | 5 May 1970 | 6 October 1988 | 18 years, 154 days | Communist Party of Latvia | |
| — |  | Vilnis Edvīns Bresis (1938–2017) | 6 October 1988 | 7 May 1990 | 1 year, 213 days | Communist Party of Latvia | |
From 4 May 1990 after adopting theDeclaration of the Restoration of Independence of the Republic.
Political party:
Independent
Popular Front of Latvia (LTF)
Latvian Way (LC)
For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK (TB/LNNK)
People's Party (TP)
New Era Party (JL)
Latvian Green Party (LZP)
Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way (LPP/LC)
Unity(V)
Liepāja Party (LP)
New Unity (JV)
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | Saeima | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Tenure | |||||||
| 10 |  | Ivars Godmanis (born 1951) | 7 May 1990 | 3 August 1993 | 3 years, 40 days | Popular Front of Latvia | Godmanis I LTF LC joined later | SC (1990) | |
| 11 |  | Valdis Birkavs (born 1942) | 3 August 1993 | 15 September 1994 | 1 year, 43 days | Latvian Way | Birkavs LC–LZS–LZP | 5th (1993) | |
| 12 |  | Māris Gailis (born 1951) | 15 September 1994 | 21 December 1995 | 1 year, 97 days | Gailis LC–TPA–LZS–LZP TB joined later and exited cabinet | |||
| 13 |  | Andris Šķēle (born 1958) | 21 December 1995 | 13 February 1997 | 1 year, 229 days | Independent | Šķēle I DP'S'–TB–LC–LNNK–LZS–LZP–LVP | 6th (1995) | |
| 13 February 1997 | 7 August 1997 | Šķēle II DP'S'–TB–LC–LNNK–LZS–LZP KDS joined later | |||||||
| 14 |  | Guntars Krasts (born 1957) | 7 August 1997 | 26 November 1998 | 1 year, 111 days | For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK | Krasts TB/LNNK–LC–LZS–LZP–DPS–KTP DPS and KTP exited cabinet | ||
| 15 | .jpg) | Vilis Krištopans (born 1954) | 26 November 1998 | 16 July 1999 | 232 days | Latvian Way | Krištopans LC–TB/LNNK–JP LSDSP joined later | 7th (1998) | |
| (13) | | Andris Šķēle (born 1958) | 16 July 1999 | 5 May 2000 | 294 days | People's Party | Šķēle III TP–LC–TB/LNNK | ||
| 16 | .jpg) | Andris Bērziņš (born 1951) | 5 May 2000 | 7 November 2002 | 2 years, 186 days | Latvian Way | Bērziņš LC–TP–TB/LNNK–JP | ||
| 17 |  | Einars Repše (born 1961) | 7 November 2002 | 9 March 2004 | 1 year, 123 days | New Era Party | Repše JL–TB/LNNK–LZS–LPP–LZP LPP exited cabinet | 8th (2002) | |
| 18 |  | Indulis Emsis (born 1952) | 9 March 2004 | 2 December 2004 | 268 days | Latvian Green Party | Emsis TP –LPP –LZS –LZP | ||
| 19 |  | Aigars Kalvītis (born 1966) | 2 December 2004 | 7 November 2006 | 3 years, 18 days | People's Party | Kalvītis I TP–JL–LZS–LPP–LZP JL exited cabinet | ||
| 7 November 2006 | 20 December 2007 | Kalvītis II TP–LZS–LPP–TB/LNNK–LZP–LC | 9th (2006) | ||||||
| (10) | | Ivars Godmanis (born 1951) | 20 December 2007 | 12 March 2009 | 1 year, 82 days | Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way | Godmanis II LPP/LC–TP–LZS–TB/LNNK–LZP | ||
| 20 |  | Valdis Dombrovskis (born 1971) | 12 March 2009 | 3 November 2010 | 4 years, 316 days | New Era Party | Dombrovskis I JL–TP–TB/LNNK–LZS–LZP–PS | ||
| 3 November 2010 | 25 October 2011 | Dombrovskis II JL–PS–SCP–LZS–LZP–LP JL,PS,SCP, LP later replaced byV | 10th (2010) | ||||||
| 25 October 2011 | 22 January 2014 | Unity | Dombrovskis III V–ZRP–NA | 11th (2011) | |||||
| 21 | _(cropped).jpg) | Laimdota Straujuma (born 1951) | 22 January 2014 | 5 November 2014 | 2 years, 20 days | Straujuma I V–RP–NA–LZS–LZP | |||
| 5 November 2014 | 11 February 2016 | Straujuma II V–NA–LZS–LZP–LuV–LP | 12th (2014) | ||||||
| 22 |  | Māris Kučinskis (born 1961) | 11 February 2016 | 23 January 2019 | 2 years, 346 days | Liepāja Party | Kučinskis V–NA–LZS–LZP–LuV–LP | ||
| 23 |  | Krišjānis Kariņš (born 1964) | 23 January 2019 | 14 December 2022 | 4 years, 235 days | New Unity | Kariņš I JV–JKP–KPV LV–A/P!–NA KPV LV exited cabinet | 13th (2018) | |
| 14 December 2022 | 15 September 2023 | Kariņš II JV–NA–AS | 14th (2022) | ||||||
| 24 | | Evika Siliņa (born 1975) | 15 September 2023 | Incumbent[3] | 2 years, 153 days | Siliņa JV–ZZS–PRO | |||
| # | Prime Minister | Date of birth | Age at ascension (first term) | Time in office (total) | Age at retirement (last term) | Date of death | Longevity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ulmanis, KārlisKārlis Ulmanis | 18770904September 4, 1877(September 4, 1877) | 41 07541 years, 75 days | 09 3349 years, 334 days | 62 28762 years, 287 days | 19420920September 20, 1942 | 23,75665 years, 16 days |
| 2 | Meierovics, ZigfrīdsZigfrīds Meierovics | 18870206February 6, 1887(February 6, 1887) | 34 13334 years, 133 days | 02 0702 years, 70 days | 36 35436 years, 354 days | 19250822August 22, 1925 | 14,07638 years, 197 days |
| 3 | Pauļuks, JānisJānis Pauļuks | 18651112November 12, 1865(November 12, 1865) | 57 07657 years, 76 days | 00 152152 days | 57 22857 years, 228 days | 19370621June 21, 1937 | 26,15371 years, 221 days |
| 4 | Zāmuēls, VoldemārsVoldemārs Zāmuēls | 18720522May 22, 1872(May 22, 1872) | 51 25051 years, 250 days | 00 327327 days | 52 21052 years, 210 days | 19480116September 25, 1944 | 27,63175 years, 239 days |
| 5 | Celmiņš, HugoHugo Celmiņš | 18771030October 30, 1877(October 30, 1877) | 47 05047 years, 50 days | 03 1213 years, 121 days | 53 14753 years, 147 days | 19410730July 30, 1941 | 23,28363 years, 273 days |
| 6 | Alberings, ArtursArturs Alberings | 18760108January 8, 1876(January 8, 1876) | 50 11950 years, 119 days | 00 226226 days | 50 34550 years, 345 days | 19340426April 26, 1934 | 21,29258 years, 108 days |
| 7 | Skujenieks, MarģersMarģers Skujenieks | 18860622June 22, 1886(June 22, 1886) | 40 18040 years, 180 days | 02 1452 years, 145 days | 46 27446 years, 274 days | 19410712July 12, 1941 | 20,10855 years, 20 days |
| 8 | Juraševskis, PēterisPēteris Juraševskis | 18720323March 23, 1872(March 23, 1872) | 55 30755 years, 307 days | 00 312312 days | 56 25256 years, 252 days | 19450110January 10, 1945 | 26,59072 years, 293 days |
| 9 | Blzodnieks, AzdolfsĀdolfs Bļodnieks | 18890724July 24, 1889(July 24, 1889) | 43 24343 years, 243 days | 00 358358 days | 44 23544 years, 235 days | 19620321March 21, 1962 | 26,53772 years, 240 days |
| — | Augusts Kirhenšteins[3] | 18720918September 18, 1872(September 18, 1872) | 67 27667 years, 276 days | 00 06666 days | 67 34267 years, 342 days | 19631103November 11, 1963 | 33,28291 years, 46 days |
| 10 | Godmanis, IvarsIvars Godmanis | 19511127November 27, 1951(November 27, 1951) | 38 16138 years, 161 days | 04 1244 years, 124 days | 57 10557 years, 105 days | Living | 27,10974 years, 80 days (living) |
| 11 | Birkavs, ValdisValdis Birkavs | 19420728July 28, 1942(July 28, 1942) | 51 00651 years, 6 days | 01 0431 year, 43 days | 52 04952 years, 49 days | Living | 30,51883 years, 202 days (living) |
| 12 | Gailis, MārisMāris Gailis | 19510709July 9, 1951(July 9, 1951) | 43 03743 years, 37 days | 01 0971 year, 97 days | 44 16544 years, 165 days | Living | 27,25074 years, 221 days (living) |
| 13 | Szkzēle, AndrisAndris Šķēle | 19580116January 16, 1958(January 16, 1958) | 37 33937 years, 339 days | 02 1592 years, 159 days | 42 11042 years, 110 days | Living | 24,86768 years, 30 days (living) |
| 14 | Krasts, GuntarsGuntars Krasts | 19571016October 16, 1957(October 16, 1957) | 39 29539 years, 295 days | 01 1111 year, 111 days | 41 04141 years, 51 days | Living | 24,95968 years, 122 days (living) |
| 15 | Krisztopans, VilisVilis Krištopans | 19540613June 13, 1954(June 13, 1954) | 44 16644 years, 166 days | 00 232232 days | 45 03345 years, 33 days | Living | 26,18071 years, 247 days (living) |
| 16 | Bērziņš, AndrisAndris Bērziņš | 19510804August 4, 1951(August 4, 1951) | 48 27548 years, 275 days | 02 1862 years, 186 days | 51 09551 years, 95 days | Living | 27,22474 years, 195 days (living) |
| 17 | Repše, EinarsEinars Repše | 19611209December 9, 1961(December 9, 1961) | 40 33340 years, 333 days | 01 1231 year, 123 days | 42 09142 years, 91 days | Living | 23,44464 years, 68 days (living) |
| 18 | Emsis, IndulisIndulis Emsis | 19520102January 2, 1952(January 2, 1952) | 52 06752 years, 67 days | 00 268268 days | 52 33552 years, 335 days | Living | 27,07374 years, 44 days (living) |
| 19 | Kalvītis, AigarsAigars Kalvītis | 19660627June 27, 1966(June 27, 1966) | 38 15838 years, 158 days | 03 0183 years, 18 days | 41 17642 years, 91 days | Living | 21,78359 years, 233 days (living) |
| 20 | Dombrovskis, ValdisValdis Dombrovskis | 19710805August 5, 1971(August 5, 1971) | 37 21937 years, 219 days | 04 3164 years, 316 days | 42 17042 years, 170 days | Living | 19,91854 years, 194 days (living) |
| 21 | Straujuma, LaimdotaLaimdota Straujuma | 19510224February 24, 1951(February 24, 1951) | 62 33262 years, 332 days | 02 0202 years, 20 days | 64 35264 years, 352 days | Living | 27,38574 years, 356 days (living) |
| 22 | Kučinskis, MārisMāris Kučinskis | 19611128November 28, 1961(November 28, 1961) | 54 07554 years, 75 days | 02 3452 years, 345 days | 57 05657 years, 56 days | Living | 23,45564 years, 79 days (living) |
| 23 | Kariņš, Arturs KrišjānisKrišjānis Kariņš | 19641213December 13, 1964(December 13, 1964) | 54 04154 years, 41 days | 4 years, 235 days | 58 years, 276 days | Living | 22,34461 years, 64 days (living) |
| 24 | Evika Siliņa[4] | 19750803August 3, 1975(December 13, 1964) | 48 04348 years, 43 days | 00 304884 days | Living | 22,34450 years, 196 days (living) |
1 During the 1918–1920 Independence War, Latvia was contested by two other governments: the government ofSoviet Latvia, led byPēteris Stučka, and the government ofAndrievs Niedra, backed byBaltic Germans. Some sources may list Stučka and Niedra as prime ministers for periods when their governments controlled most of Latvia.
2On 15 May 1934, prime minister Ulmanis dissolved parliament and banned all political parties (including his ownFarmer's Union), establishing authoritarian rule.
3 Puppet leader appointed by Soviet authorities. Not recognized as such by the Latvian government.
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