Siliņa was born in Riga[5] on 3 August 1975.[1] She studied at the University of Latvia from 1993 to 1997,where she obtained a bachelor's degree in law and at the Riga Graduate School of Law for a master's degree in social sciences,international law,and European law.[6]
From 2003 to 2012,Siliņa worked as a lawyer specializing in international and domestic business law. Her clients included firms in telecommunications and IT as well as government bodies.[1]
Siliņa served as the Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Interior from January 2013 until 23 January 2019.[9]During her tenure as the Ministry of Interior's Secretary,Silina was praised for her openness to journalists,as well as for her fight against synthetic cannabinoids and their circulation in Latvia.[10][11] She also represented the Ministry in international organizations such as the United Nations,INTERPOL,and CEPOL.[12]
Following the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers led by Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņšon 23 January 2019,she assumed the role of Parliamentary Secretary[lv] to the Prime Minister.[13][14]
On 6 December 2022,Siliņa was appointed as the Minister of Welfare in the Krišjānis Kariņš' cabinet.[16] The new cabinet was confirmed on 14 December.[17]
As the Minister of Welfare,increasing minimum income was one of her main objectives.[18] On 23 February 2023,she was appointed by the Prime Minister as a member of the newly formed Thematic Committee on European Union Funds.[19] On 4 July 2023,her Ministry brought to the Saeima ratification of the Istanbul Convention with some reservations and the non-support of the government partner National Alliance.[20][21]
Prime Minister of Latvia (2023–present)
Siliņa with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in Helsinki,24 November 2023
On 16 August 2023,after the resignation of Krišjānis Kariņš,the New Unity nominated Siliņa as a candidate for the post of prime minister.[22] On 24 August,she was asked by President Edgars Rinkēvičs to form a government.[23]
On 29 August,United List declined to be part of a four-party coalition government following the offer by Siliņa.[24] On 1 September,Siliņa indicated that she intended to forge a new parliamentary majority with the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) and The Progressives (P).[25] Twelve days later she unveiled the composition of the new government,in which New Unity (JV) had seven ministries,ZZS four and P three,with Krišjānis Kariņšrecalled as Minister of Foreign Affairs.[26]
The government coalition led by Siliņa won the confidence of the parliamentary majority in the Saeima on 15 September 2023,receiving 53 votes.[27] In her speech,the new Prime Minister emphasized the need to be more inclusive,which was interpreted as prioritizing gender equality and other progressive goals. For the Russian-speaking minority,inclusion assumes elimination of the "non-citizen" status and integration into the Latvian-based education system.[5] The government also aims to increase the military budget and complete the construction of the barrier on the country's border with Russia and Belarus.[5] Siliņa is the second woman to become prime minister of Latvia,following Laimdota Straujuma in 2014–2016.[28]
Personal life
Evika Siliņa is married to Aigars Siliņš,with whom she has three children.[8][5]
As well as her native language of Latvian,Siliņa is fluent in Russian and English.[1]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
