Dace Melbārde (born 3 April 1971 in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

) is a

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n politician. She is a member of

New Unity The New Unity ( lv, Jaunā Vienotība, JV) is a centre-right political alliance in Latvia. Its members are Unity, the Latgale Party and four other regional parties, and it is orientated towards liberal-conservatism and liberalism. History Be ...

, having defected from the National Alliance in 2022 and was the Latvian minister of culture from 2013 to 2019. In May 2019, representing the political party National Alliance, she was elected as a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

, where she joined the

European Conservatives and Reformists The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) is a soft Eurosceptic, anti- federalist political group of the European Parliament. The ECR is the parliamentary group of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party) European pol ...

group.

Biography

She studied at Valmiera's 1st Secondary school (1989),

University of Latvia University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...

school of history and philosophy (Bachelor's degree in History Sciences, 1994), Latvian Academy of Culture (Master's degree in cultural theory, administration and history speciality, 1996) and the University of Latvia's School of Economics and Management (Master's degree in company management, 2001). During the period from 1992 to 1995, Melbarde was the chief specialist of education and information work at the

Latvian War Museum The Latvian War Museum ( lv, Latvijas Kara muzejs) is a Museum#military museum, military museum in Riga, the capital of Latvia. The Latvian War Museum was established on 15 October 1916 as the Latvian Riflemen Battalion Museum. Initially the muse ...

. From 1994 to 1996, led a cultural centre at the Latvian Police College. From 1996 to 1999, she was deputy director of the National Youth Initiative Centre. Then, until 2004, she was general secretary at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's National Commission of Latvia. From 2003 to 2005, Chairman of the Council for the Conservation and Development of the Historical Centre of

. From 2004 to 2006, Member of the Council of Ministers ''Education for All.'' Former Under-Secretary of State on Cultural Policy Issues of the Latvian Ministry of Culture from 2004 to 2009. During the period 2005-2009, member of the artistic council of the

Latvian Song and Dance Festival The Latvian Song and Dance Festival ( lv, Vispārējie latviešu Dziesmu un Deju svētki) is one of the largest amateur choral and dancing events in the world and an important event in Latvian culture and social life. As one of the Baltic song ...

. The following two years have been the Country Manager of the British Council Latvia. In 2011 she became Director of the State Centre for Arts Education and Intangible Heritage. In 2013 Melbarde became Minister for culture of the Republic of

she held this position till 2019 when she was elected as a

. In 1999 and 2000 awarded by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia for the Contribution to the Development of the Youth Policy in Latvia. In 2002 awarded by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia for the Achievements in Building of the Latvian State. In 2005 was the finalist of the World Competition „The Outstanding Young Persons” organized by the Junior Chamber International, and Winner of the National Competition in the nomination “Achievements in Culture”. Received award by the Speaker of the Parliament of the

Republic of Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

for the Contribution to Organising the Latvian School Children and Youth Song and Dance Celebration in 2005. Awarded with the Spīdola Award by the National Cultural Foundation for the Excellence in the Management of Culture in 2005. In 2013 awarded with the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra", meaning "Thr ...

4th class.

Political action

Following the resignation of Žaneta Jaunzeme-Grendein October 2013, Melbarde was confirmed as a non-party representative of the Latvian Minister for Culture in the government of

Valdis Dombrovskis Valdis Dombrovskis (born 5 August 1971) is a Latvian politician serving as Executive Vice President of the European Commission for An Economy that Works for People since 2019 and European Commissioner for Trade since 2020. He previously served ...

. In total Melbarde has worked as Minister for Culture in five governments: * 31 October 2013 - Minister for Culture of the Republic in the government led by Valdis Dombrivskis * 22 January 2014 - Minister for Culture of the Republic in the government led by

Laimdota Straujuma Laimdota Straujuma (born 24 February 1951) is a Latvian economist who was the Prime Minister of Latvia, Prime Minister of Latvia from January 2014 to February 2016. Before her tenure as Prime Minister, she served as Minister of Agriculture from 20 ...

* 5 November 2014 - Minister for Culture of the Republic in the government led by

* 11 February 2016 - Minister for Culture of the Republic in the government led by

Māris Kučinskis Māris Kučinskis (born 28 November 1961) is a Latvian politician and former Prime Minister of Latvia. Early life and career Māris Kučinskis was born on 28 November 1961, in Limbaži District, Latvia, where he lived until the age of 16. Afte ...

* 23 January 2019 - Minister for Culture of the Republic in the government led by Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš She joined the political party National Alliance in February 2014. The same year she was elected to the parliament of the

, the

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the po ...

. She was re-elected to the Saeima at the next term as well. On 22 August 2022 she left the National Alliance and joined

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melbarde, Dace 1971 births Living people Politicians from Riga National Alliance (Latvia) politicians Ministers of Culture of Latvia Deputies of the 12th Saeima Deputies of the 13th Saeima MEPs for Latvia 2019–2024 Women government ministers of Latvia Women MEPs for Latvia 21st-century Latvian women politicians Latvian Academy of Culture alumni New Unity politicians Women deputies of the Saeima