Prime Minister of Latvia

Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia
Flag of the Prime Minister of Latvia
Incumbent Māris Kučinskis since 11 February 2016
Appointer	President of Latvia
Term length	General elections to the Saeima are held every four years at most. The Prime Minister is by convention the leader of the victorious party. No term limits are imposed on the office.
Inaugural holder	Kārlis Ulmanis
Formation	19 November 1918

The Prime Minister of Latvia (Latvian: Ministru prezidents) is the most powerful member of the Government of Latvia, and presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers. The Prime Minister is nominated by the President of Latvia, but must be able to obtain the support of a majority of the Saeima (parliament).

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 office was known as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, but is generally considered to have been the same role.

A direct translation of the official Latvian term is Minister-President. Although the equivalent is used in some European languages, it is not used conventionally in English.

Republic of Latvia (1918–1940)

Political Party:   LZS   Independent   MP   DC   PA   LJSP

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of Office			Political Party	Cabinet		Saeima
			Took Office	Left Office	Days
rowspan=4 style="background:Template:Latvian Farmers' Union/meta/color; color:white"| 1 (1 of 4)[1]		Kārlis Ulmanis (1877–1942)	18 November 1918	13 July 1919	944	Centre Party LATVIAN FARMERS' UNION (LZS)	I	LZS – LNP – DC – DS	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Farmers' Union/meta/color | PC
14 July 1919			8 December 1919	II			LZS – LŽNP DC joined later	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Farmers' Union/meta/color | PC ( ···· )
9 December 1919			11 June 1920	III			LZS – LŽNP DS joined later	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Farmers' Union/meta/color | PC ( ···· )
12 June 1920			18 June 1921	IV			LZS – DS – LDP DS exited later	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | CA (1920)
style="background:Template:Latvian Farmers' Union/meta/color; color:white"| 2 (1 of 2)		Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics (1887–1925)	19 June 1921	26 January 1923	587	Centre Party LATVIAN FARMERS' UNION (LZS)	I	LZS – DC – MP – LTP LTP exited later	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | CA ( ···· )
style="background:Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color;"| 3		Jānis Pauļuks (1865–1937)	27 January 1923	27 June 1923	152	Independent	I	LZS – LSPDS – DC – LJS – MP	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | 1 (1922)
style="background:Template:Latvian Farmers' Union/meta/color; color:white"| 2 (2 of 2)		Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics (1887–1925)	28 January 1923	26 January 1924	213	Centre Party LATVIAN FARMERS' UNION (LZS)	II	LZS – LSPDS – DC – LJS – MP	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | 1 ( ···· )
style="background:Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color;"| 4		Voldemārs Zāmuēls (1872–1948)	27 January 1924	18 December 1924	327	Independent	I	BNC – DC – LJS	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | 1 ( ···· )
style="background:Template:Latvian Farmers' Union/meta/color; color:white"| 5 (1 of 2)		Hugo Celmiņš (1877–1941)	19 December 1924	23 December 1925	370	Centre Party LATVIAN FARMERS' UNION (LZS)	I	LZS – DC MP and LJS joined later	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | 1 ( ···· )
style="background:Template:Latvian Farmers' Union/meta/color; color:white"| 1 (2 of 4)		Kārlis Ulmanis (1877–1942)	24 December 1925	6 May 1926	134	Centre Party LATVIAN FARMERS' UNION (LZS)	V	LZS – LJSP – LJS – LZP NA joined later	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | 2 (1925)
style="background:Template:Latvian Farmers' Union/meta/color; color:white"| 6		Arturs Alberings (1877–1934)	7 May 1926	18 December 1926	226	Centre Party LATVIAN FARMERS' UNION (LZS)	I	LZS – DC – LJSP – LJS – LZP	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | 2 ( ···· )
7 (1 of 2)		Marģers Skujenieks (1886–1941)	19 December 1926	23 January 1928	401	Mensheviks Party (MP)	I	LSDSP – MP – LPP – DC – LJS DC exited cabinet	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | 2 ( ···· )
8		Pēteris Juraševskis (1872–1945)	24 January 1928	30 November 1928	312	Democratic Centre (DC)	I	LZS – DC – LZP – VRP / DbRP	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | 2 ( ···· )
style="background:Template:Latvian Farmers' Union/meta/color; color:white"| 5 (2 of 2)		Hugo Celmiņš (1877–1941)	1 December 1928	26 March 1931	846	Centre Party LATVIAN FARMERS' UNION (LZS)	II	LZS – DC – LJSP – LDZA – LA – KNP – VRP / DbRP DC, KNP, VRP / DbRP exited cabinet	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | 3 (1928)
style="background:Template:Latvian Farmers' Union/meta/color; color:white"| 1 (3 of 4)		Kārlis Ulmanis (1877–1942)	27 March 1931	5 December 1931	254	Centre Party LATVIAN FARMERS' UNION (LZS)	VI	LZS – LJSP – LDZA – NA – MKRA – LKZP – LPP	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | 3 ( ···· )
7 (2 of 2)		Marģers Skujenieks (1886–1941)	6 December 1931	23 March 1933	474	Progressive Association of New Farmers (PA)	II	PA – DC – LZS – LZPA LJSP joined later	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | 4 (1931)
9		Ādolfs Bļodnieks (1889–1962)	24 March 1933	16 March 1934	358	Party of New Farmers and Smallholders (LJSP)	I	LJSP – LZS – DC – LZPA – PA – LKKP – KDP DC, PA exited cabinet	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | 4 ( ···· )
style="background:Template:Latvian Farmers' Union/meta/color; color:white"| 1 (4 of 4)[2]		Kārlis Ulmanis (1877–1942)	17 March 1934	15 May 1934	2287	Centre Party LATVIAN FARMERS' UNION (LZS)	VII	LZS – KA – LKKP – LPP – KDP	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party/meta/color | 4 ( ···· )
style="background:Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color;"|			15 May 1934	19 June 1940		Independent	VIII	No party	bgcolor=Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color | Dis.
style="background:Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color;"| –[3]		Augusts Kirhenšteins (1872–1963)	20 June 1940	25 August 1940	66	Independent	I	No party	bgcolor=Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color | Dis.

Notes

¹ During the 1918–1920 Independence War, Latvia was contested by two other governments: the government of Soviet Latvia, led by Pēteris Stučka, and the government of Andrievs Niedra, backed by Baltic Germans. Some sources may list Stučka and Niedra as prime ministers for periods when their governments controlled most of Latvia.

² On 15 May 1934, prime minister Ulmanis dissolved parliament and banned all political parties (including his own Farmer's Union), establishing authoritarian rule.

³ Puppet leader appointed by Soviet authorities. Not recognized as such by the Latvian government.

Republic of Latvia (1990–present)

From 4 May 1990 after adopting the Declaration of the Restoration of Independence of the Republic.

Political Party:   LTF   LC   Independent   TB/LNNK   TP   JL   LZP   LPP/LC   V

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of Office			Political Party	Cabinet		Saeima
			Took Office	Left Office	Days
style="background:Template:Popular Front of Latvia/meta/color; color:white"| 1 (1 of 2)		Ivars Godmanis (1951–)	7 May 1990	3 August 1993	1136	Popular Front of Latvia (LTF)	I	LTF LC joined later	bgcolor=Template:Popular Front of Latvia/meta/color | SC (1990)
style="background:Template:Latvian Way/meta/color;"| 2		Valdis Birkavs (1942–)	3 August 1993	15 September 1994	408	Latvian Way (LC)	I	LC – LZS – LZP	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Way/meta/color | 5 (1993)
style="background:Template:Latvian Way/meta/color;"| 3		Māris Gailis (1951–)	15 September 1994	21 December 1995	462	Latvian Way (LC)	I	LC – TPA – LZS – LZP TB joined later and exited cabinet	bgcolor=Template:Latvian Way/meta/color | 5 ( ···· )
rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color;"| 4 (1 of 2)		Andris Šķēle (1958–)	21 December 1995	13 February 1997	595	Independent	I	DP‘S’ – TB – LC – LNNK – LZS – LZP – LVP	bgcolor=Template:Democratic Party "Saimnieks"/meta/color | 6 (1995)
13 February 1997			7 August 1997	II			DP‘S’ – TB – LC – LNNK – LZS – LZP KDS joined later	bgcolor=Template:Democratic Party "Saimnieks"/meta/color | 6 ( ···· )
style="background:Template:For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK/meta/color;"| 5		Guntars Krasts (1957–)	7 August 1997	26 November 1998	476	For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK (TB/LNNK)	I	TB/LNNK – LC – LZS – LZP – DPS – KTP DPS and KTP exited cabinet	bgcolor=Template:Democratic Party "Saimnieks"/meta/color | 6 ( ···· )
style="background:Template:Latvian Way/meta/color;"| 6		Vilis Krištopans (1954–)	26 November 1998	16 July 1999	232	Latvian Way (LC)	I	LC – TB/LNNK – JP LSDSP joined later	bgcolor=Template:People's Party (Latvia)/meta/color | 7 (1998)
style="background:Template:People's Party (Latvia)/meta/color;"| 4 (2 of 2)		Andris Šķēle (1958–)	16 July 1999	5 May 2000	294	People's Party (TP)	III	TP – LC – TB/LNNK	bgcolor=Template:People's Party (Latvia)/meta/color | 7 ( ···· )
style="background:Template:Latvian Way/meta/color;"| 7		Andris Bērziņš (1951–)	5 May 2000	7 November 2002	916	Latvian Way (LC)	I	LC – TP – TB/LNNK – JP	bgcolor=Template:People's Party (Latvia)/meta/color | 7 ( ···· )
style="background:Template:New Era Party/meta/color; color:white"| 8		Einars Repše (1961–)	7 November 2002	9 March 2004	488	New Era Party (JL)	I	JL – TB/LNNK – LZS – LPP – LZP LPP exited cabinet	bgcolor=Template:New Era Party/meta/color | 8 (2002)
style="background:Template:Latvian Green Party/meta/color; color:white"| 9		Indulis Emsis (1952–)	9 March 2004	2 December 2004	268	Latvian Green Party (LZP)	I	TP – LPP – LZS – LZP	bgcolor=Template:New Era Party/meta/color | 8 ( ···· )
rowspan=2 style="background:Template:People's Party (Latvia)/meta/color;"| 10		Aigars Kalvītis (1966–)	2 December 2004	7 November 2006	1113	People's Party (TP)	I	TP – JL – LZS – LPP – LZP JL exited cabinet	bgcolor=Template:New Era Party/meta/color | 8 ( ···· )
7 November 2006			20 December 2007	II			TP – LZS – LPP – TB/LNNK – LZP – LC	bgcolor=Template:People's Party (Latvia)/meta/color | 9 (2006)
style="background:Template:Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way/meta/color; color:white"| 1 (2 of 2)		Ivars Godmanis (1951–)	20 December 2007	12 March 2009	448	Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way (LPP/LC)	II	LPP/LC – TP – LZS – TB/LNNK – LZP	bgcolor=Template:People's Party (Latvia)/meta/color | 9 ( ···· )
rowspan=2 style="background:Template:New Era Party/meta/color; color:white"| 11		Valdis Dombrovskis (1971–)	12 March 2009	3 November 2010	1777	New Era Party (JL) JL later replaced by V	I	JL – TP – TB/LNNK – LZS – LZP – PS	bgcolor=Template:People's Party (Latvia)/meta/color | 9 ( ···· )
3 November 2010			25 October 2011	II			JL – PS – SCP – LZS – LZP – LP JL, PS, SCP, LP later replaced by V	bgcolor=Template:New Era Party/meta/color | 10 (2010)
style="background:Template:Unity (Latvia)/meta/color; color:white"|			25 October 2011	22 January 2014		Party "UNITY" (V)	III	V – ZRP – NA	11 (2011)
rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Unity (Latvia)/meta/color; color:white"| 12		Laimdota Straujuma (1951–)	22 January 2014	5 November 2014	750	Party "UNITY" (V)	I	V – RP – NA - LZS – LZP	11 ( ···· )
5 November 2014			11 February 2016	II			V – NA - LZS – LZP – LuV - LP	12 ( 2014)
13		Māris Kučinskis (1961–)	11 February 2016	Incumbent	3101	Liepāja Party (LP)	I	V – NA - LZS – LZP – LuV - LP	12 ( ···· )

Statistics

#	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 1520 years, 152 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 3270 years, 327 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 2260 years, 226 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 3120 years, 312 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 3580 years, 358 days	44 23544 years, 235 days	19620321March 21, 1962	26,53772 years, 240 day
10	Kirhenšteins, AugustsAugusts Kirhenšteins	18720918September 18, 1872(September 18, 1872)	67 27667 years, 276 days	00 0660 years, 66 days	67 34267 years, 342 days	19631103November 11, 1963	33,28291 years, 46 days
11	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	26,55372 years, 255 days (Living)
12	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	29,96282 years, 11 days (Living)
13	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	26,69473 years, 30 days (Living)
14	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	24,31166 years, 205 days (Living)
15	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	24,40366 years, 297 days (Living)
16	Krisztopans, VilisVilis Krištopans	19540613June 13, 1954(June 13, 1954)	44 16644 years, 166 days	00 2320 years, 232 days	45 03345 years, 33 days	Living	25,62470 years, 56 days (Living)
17	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	26,66873 years, 4 days (Living)
18	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	22,88862 years, 243 days (Living)
19	Emsis, IndulisIndulis Emsis	19520102January 2, 1952(January 2, 1952)	52 06752 years, 67 days	00 2680 years, 268 days	52 33552 years, 335 days	Living	26,51772 years, 219 days (Living)
20	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	21,22758 years, 42 days (Living)
21	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	19,36253 years, 3 days (Living)
22	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	26,82973 years, 166 days (Living)
23	Kučinskis, MārisMāris Kučinskis	19510224November 28, 1961(November 28, 1961)	54 07054 years, 75 days	01 080 5448 years, 179 days (Ongoing)	Incumbent	Living	22,89962 years, 254 days (Living)

See also

• Lists of office-holders

External links

• Official list from the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers