Foreign relations of Latvia are the primary responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Today's Republic of Latvia regards itself as a continuation of the 1918–1940 republic. After the declaration on the restoration of its full independence on August 21, 1991, Latvia became a member of the United Nations on September 17, 1991, and is a signatory to a number of UN organizations and other international agreements. Latvia welcomes further cooperation and integration with NATO, European Union, OECD and other Western organizations. It also seeks more active participation in UN peacekeeping efforts worldwide.
The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia is the Latvian government ministry in charge of the formation and implementation of national security and defence policy, and for the overall management and control of related subordinate agencies, such as the Latvian National Armed Forces. The ministry is headed by the politically appointed Minister of Defence.
Anatols Dinbergs was one of the preeminent career diplomats of Latvia. He entered service in Latvia's Foreign Ministry in 1932. Dinbergs remained abroad when the Soviet Union occupied Latvia, serving in the Latvian Legation in Washington, D.C., after World War II ended. Dinbergs assumed the highest diplomatic post, that of chargé d'affaires, in 1970 and represented Latvia's sovereign interests in exile until Latvia reestablished its independence in 1991. As head of the Latvian diplomatic service abroad, Dinbergs was appointed Latvia's first ambassador to the United Nations and subsequently Latvia's first ambassador to the United States. After retirement, he served as Counselor to the Latvian Embassy in Washington, D.C., until his death in 1993.
Arturs Alberings was the 6th Prime Minister of Latvia. He held office from 7 May 1926 to 18 December 1926.
The government of Latvia is the central government of the Republic of Latvia. The Constitution of Latvia defines Latvia as a parliamentary republic represented by a unicameral parliament (Saeima) and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia, which form the executive branch of Latvia.
Currently, Belarus has an embassy in Riga, while Latvia has an embassy in Minsk. The countries share 161 km as it relates to their common border.
Latvia is divided into five planning regions : Kurzeme, Latgale, Riga, Vidzeme, and Zemgale. The boundaries of these regions correspond to the borders of Latvia's municipalities. However, the planning regions are not considered administrative territorial divisions, as they are not mentioned in the law governing Latvia's administrative territorial structure.
Solvita Āboltiņa is a Latvian politician who was Speaker of the Saeima from 2010 until 2014.
The main religion traditionally practiced in Latvia is Christianity. As of 2019, it is the largest religion (68.84%), though only about 7% of the population attends religious services regularly.
The Ministry of Transport is a ministry of Latvia which is responsible for implementing state policy in the fields of transport and communications. Its head office is in Riga. As of 2023, Kaspars Briškens is the minister.
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 Chancellery of Latvia is a central public administration institution directly subordinated to the Prime Minister.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for maintaining the Republic of Latvia's external relations and the management of its international diplomatic missions. The current Minister of Foreign Affairs is Baiba Braže.
The Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia is the leading state administrative institution responsible for economic policy in Latvia. The ministry also represents the economic interests of Latvia in the European Union.
Bangladesh–Latvia relations refer to the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Latvia. Bangladesh was one of the first countries to recognize Latvia in 1991. Diplomatic relations between the two countries officially started on 21 January 1993.
Brigadier Janis Kazocins is a former British Army officer and Latvian intelligence agency director.
The 1978 Constitution of the Latvian SSR, officially the Constitution of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic was the constitution of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted on April 18, 1978 at the eighth session of the 9th Convocation of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR.
The State Security Service or VDD is one of three Latvian security and intelligence services. VDD is the civilian counterintelligence and internal security service, which gathers intelligence from a number of sources and conducts its analysis, informs senior state officials about the identified risks to national security as well as acting to neutralize those risks.
Marina Dolgopolova is a Belarusian diplomat. She was born on 19 May 1960 in Belarus, Mogilev region, Babruysk.
Mārtiņš Virsis is a Latvian historian, politician and diplomat. He was the member of the Fifth Saeima of Latvia and the Latvian ambassador to Germany, Lithuania and Belarus. He is married and has two children.
