BREAKING

Latvian Foreign Minister gets sworn in as President

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
8 Jul 2023 15:04

The former Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevičs becomes Latvia's President and while the Prime Minister is set to fulfill the role of Foreign Minister until a new top diplomat gets appointed.

Newly elected Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics speaks to the media after lawmakers elected him in the Saeima, the Latvian Parliament in Riga, Latvia, Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (AP)

Edgars Rinkevics, former Latvian Foreign Minister got sworn in as the new Latvian president after an 11-year career as FM.

In a broadcast on the parliament's website, Rinkevics vowed to commit in his political course to the Latvian people.

On Twitter, the now President tweeted: "11 years 8 months 11 days as Foreign Minister of Latvia. Many thanks to the fantastic @Latvian_MFA team for continuous support as well as many colleagues and friends abroad. To be continued."

Valsts prezidents @edgarsrinkevics: “Savas prezidentūras laikā es iestāšos par modernas un stipras Latvijas izveidi, par tiesisku un taisnīgu Latviju, par tautas labklājību, par iekļaujošu un cieņpilnu sabiedrību. Un to iespējams mums visiem panākt, strādājot kopā.” pic.twitter.com/rbcysAUQdB
— Valsts prezidenta kanceleja (@Rigas_pils) July 8, 2023

Following the swear-in, Krisjanis Karins, the prime minister of Latvia, will now carry out the responsibilities of the country's foreign minister until a new FM got appointed.

In January, the Latvian government decided to downgrade diplomatic ties with Moscow, and Rinkevics requested that the Russian ambassador, Mikhail Vanin, should depart the country prior to February 24. Days later, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Latvian Ambassador Maris Riekstins should depart Russia.