Riga City Council is the government of the city of Riga,the capital of Latvia. Its meeting place is in the Riga Town Hall at the Town Hall Square (Rātslaukums) in the very heart of Riga.
Latvia has recognised civil unions since 1 July 2024,conferring the same rights and obligations as married couples with the exception of adoption and inheritance rights. On 9 November 2023,the Saeima passed legislation establishing same-sex civil unions,which was subsequently signed into law by President Edgars Rinkēvičs in January 2024. The law took effect on 1 July 2024. This followed a ruling from the Constitutional Court of Latvia on 12 November 2020 that the Latvian Constitution entitles same-sex couples to receive the same benefits and protections afforded by Latvian law to married opposite-sex couples,and gave the Saeima until 1 June 2022 to enact a law protecting same-sex couples. In December 2021,the Supreme Court ruled that should the Saeima fail to pass civil union legislation before the 1 June 2022 deadline,same-sex couples may apply to a court to have their relationship recognized. The Saeima failed to meet this deadline,and the first same-sex union was recognized by the Administrative District Court on 30 May 2022.
Raimonds Vējonis is a Latvian politician who served as the 9th President of Latvia from 2015 to 2019 and the president of the Latvian Basketball Association since 2020.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) rights in Latvia have expanded substantially in recent years,although LGBT people still face various challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female types of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Latvia,but households headed by same-sex couples are ineligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Since May 2022,same-sex couples have been recognized as "family" by the Administrative District Court,which gives them some of the legal protections available to married (opposite-sex) couples;as of 2023 November,around 40 couples have been registered via this procedure. In November 2023 a registered partnership law was codified into law. These partnerships are available to both same and different sex couples - however since July 1,2024 the implemented registered partnership law has the same rights and obligations as married couples - with the exception of the title of marriage,any adoption or inheritance rights and obligations.
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.
The president of Latvia is head of state and commander-in-chief of the National Armed Forces of the Republic of Latvia.
Māris Kučinskis is a Latvian politician,who served as the prime minister of Latvia,from 2016 to 2019.
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.
Daniels Pavļuts is a Latvian politician and former Minister for Health of Latvia from January 2021 to December 2022. He was formerly the Minister for Economics of Latvia,a position he served in from 2011 until 2014. In addition to his political and business career,he is a concert pianist.
The State Police of Latvia is the national police service and one of the national law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Latvia. It is subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. The agency is divided into five Regional Administrations. Since the 13th of October 2020,the Chief of the State Police is General Armands Ruks.
Development/For! was a liberal political alliance in Latvia. It was formed in 2018 and was composed of Movement For! (Par),For Latvia's Development (LA) and Izaugsme.
Aldis Gobzems is a Latvian politician and lawyer. He first rose to prominence as a lawyer who represented victims of the 2013 Zolitūde shopping centre roof collapse,and was the prime ministerial candidate for the Who Owns the State? party in the 2018 Latvian parliamentary elections.
Parliamentary elections were held in Latvia on 1 October 2022,following the end of the term of the 13th Saeima elected in 2018.
Kaspars Briškens is a Latvian politician,economist,and a former diplomat. In the 2022 parliamentary election,Kaspars Briškens is a candidate for the post of prime minister of the Progressives party.
The Fourteenth Saeima of Latvia was elected in the 2022 Latvian parliamentary election held on 1 October 2022.
Jānis Dombrava is a Latvian politician,board Member of the National Alliance "All for Latvia –Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK" and vice-chairman of the party. Currently elected in the 14. Saeima,chairman of the National defence committee,has been a member of parliament since 2010.
Ilze Indriksone is a Latvian environmental planner and politician representing the National Alliance (NA) party. From May 2022 to September 2023,she served as the Minister of Economics. She was a member of the 13th Saeima and during that term,she was parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Economy and deputy chairman of the Talsi Municipal Council. Indriksone is also member of the board of the Pedvale Open Air Museum. In 2022,Indriksone was elected in the 14th Saeima.
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.
Vilnis Ķirsis,is a Latvian politician,economist,and businessman,currently the Mayor of Riga since 17 August 2023.
Andris Šuvajevs is a Latvian economic anthropologist,researcher,and politician. He currently serves as a member of the 14th Saeima,representing the Progressives party. Since April 29,2023,he has been the Deputy Chairman of the Progressives.
