# Edgars Rinkēvičs

Edgars Rinkēvičs (born 21 September 1973) 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.
Upon taking office as president, Rinkēvičs became the first openly gay head of state in a European Union country. Prior to becoming president, Rinkēvičs had represented Latvian Way, Reform Party, and the Unity party since May 2014. He left Unity after being elected president as it is customarily expected in Latvia for presidents to maintain political neutrality.

## Early life and education

Rinkēvičs was born in Jūrmala, where he completed high school in 1991. Upon graduating from high school, he started a bachelor's degree at the University of Latvia's Faculty of History and Philosophy, which he acquired in 1995. During the same time, in 1994 and 1995 he studied Political Science and International Relations at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, for which he received a certificate in 1995. In 1997, he obtained his master's degree in political science, followed by a second master's degree from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, obtained in 2000.

## Career

In 1993 and 1994, Rinkēvičs worked as a journalist reporting on foreign policy and international relations at Latvian Radio, while still studying. In 1995, he took the job as senior referent in the Policy Department of the Ministry of Defence, a role he held until March 1996, when he became acting leader of the Policy Department, a role he occupied until September the same year, when he was made acting Deputy Secretary of State for Defence. In May 1997, he became acting Secretary of State for Defence, before becoming the main Secretary of State for Defence in August 1997, a role he possessed until October 2008.
Between 1998 and 2004, Rinkēvičs was a member of the Latvian Way party. In February 1998, he became involved in discussion on the US-Baltic Partnership Charter, and from 2002 to 2003 was a member of the Latvian delegation negotiating accession to NATO as Latvia's Deputy Head of Delegation. In 2008, he was appointed as Head of the Chancery of the President of Latvia, a role he held until July 2011. In October of the same year, Rinkēvičs joined Valdis Dombrovskis' third cabinet as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Initially an independent, he joined the Zatlers' Reform Party in January 2012. In May 2014, Rinkēvičs joined the Unity party.
Following the resignation of the Dombrovskis cabinet in 2014, he continued his ministerial roles in Laimdota Straujuma's first cabinet. In 2014 he stood in the parliamentary elections and was elected to parliament before again being confirmed to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs, this time in Straujuma's second cabinet. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2019 in the Kučinskis cabinet and from 2019 to 2023 in the Kariņš cabinet.
In September 2020, Rinkēvičs said he welcomed the news about the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and Bahrain. He also expressed deep concern over the escalation of hostilities in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately halt fighting and progress towards a peaceful resolution.

### Presidency (2023–present)

Rinkēvičs was elected president of Latvia on 31 May 2023. He took office on 8 July 2023.
On 20 November 2023, he visited Israel to express solidarity with the country during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.
On 15 December 2023, Rinkēvičs met with Canadian Minister of Defence Bill Blair in the Riga Castle to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two countries, especially in the areas of defence and security policy.

## Personal life

On 6 November 2014, he publicly announced on his Twitter profile that he is gay, making him the first lawmaker in Latvia to announce his homosexuality. Upon election at the president of Latvia in 2023, Rinkēvičs became the first openly gay head of state in an EU country and the first ever openly gay president of any state. In addition to Latvian, he is fluent in English, Russian, and French.

## Honours
### National

* Commander Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of the Three Stars (8 July 2023)
* Grand Cross of the Cross of Recognition (8 July 2023)
* Commander Grand Cross of the Order of Viesturs (17 November 2004)
* Grand Officer of the Order of the Three Stars (27 April 2007)
* Recipient of the Commemorative Medal for Advancing Latvia's Membership to NATO (19 March 2004)
* Recipient of the Medal of Honourable Merit for Contribution to Armed Forces Development (2000)

### Foreign

* Estonia:
** First Class of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (10 April 2019)
** Second Class of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (2 April 2009)
** Third Class of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (5 December 2005)
* Finland: Commander First Class of the Order of the Lion of Finland (2013)
* Germany: Grand Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (22 February 2019)
* Greece: Grand cross of the Order of the Redeemer (2 July 2024)
* Italy:
** Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (14 January 2019)
** Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (27 June 2005)
* Malta: Honorary Companion of Honour with Collar of the National Order of Merit (5 February 2024)
* Netherlands: Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (11 June 2018)
* Norway: Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (18 March 2015)
* Poland: Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2005)
* Ukraine: First Class of the Order of Merit (29 August 2022)
* NATO: Recipient of the NATO Meritorious Service Medal (2007)