Dainis Turlais (born 24 November 1950 in

Madona Madona (; german: Modohn) is a town with town rights in the Vidzeme region of Latvia and is the center of the Madona municipality. History The surrounding area of Madona had been populated in earlier times, which is confirmed by discoveries ...

, Latvian SSR) is a Latvian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and former

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

and Latvian

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

. After being drafted into the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

in 1969, he continued his army service in the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupat ...

and became an officer, graduating from the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

in 1985. From 1985 to 1989 he served as chief of the operative department of the 40th Army during the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Sovie ...

. He graduated from the K. E. Voroshilov Military Academy of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces in 1990. He returned to Latvia after the collapse of the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt. Before Turlais started his political career, he was commander of the

Latvian National Armed Forces The Latvian National Armed Forces ( lv, Latvijas Nacionālie bruņotie spēki), or NBS, are the armed forces of Latvia. Latvia's defense concept is based on a mobile professional rapid response force and reserve segment that can be called upon re ...

(1992–1994), until he retired with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

. From 21 December 1995 to 10 July 1997 he was Latvia's Minister of the Interior. From 7 November 2006 to 5 March 2009 he served as a deputy of the 9th Saeima (Latvian Parliament), elected from the LPP/LC party. In 2011, he was founding member of the

Honor to serve Riga Honor to serve Riga! ( lv, Gods kalpot Rīgai!, GKR) is a municipal political party located in Riga, Latvia. It was created on March 17, 2012 and is led by Andris Ameriks, the former deputy mayor of Riga. In 2013 the party entered an electo ...

party. In 2013 he was elected to

Riga City Council Riga City Council ( lv, Rīgas dome) is the government of the city of Riga, the capital of Latvia. Its meeting place is in the Riga Town Hall (''Rīgas rātsnams)'' at the Town Hall Square (''Rātslaukums'') in the very heart of Riga. The Riga C ...

, and on 30 May 2019 Turlais was elected the

mayor of Riga Riga City Council ( lv, Rīgas dome) is the government of the city of Riga, the capital of Latvia. Its meeting place is in the Riga Town Hall (''Rīgas rātsnams)'' at the Town Hall Square (''Rātslaukums'') in the very heart of Riga. The Riga ...

, but only after 21 days he was sacked in a vote of no-confidence by the

, thus making him the shortest-ruling mayor of Riga.

References

External links

Information about the MP
1950 births Living people People from Madona Democratic Party "Saimnieks" politicians Latvian Way politicians National Harmony Party politicians Latvia's First Party politicians Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way politicians Honor to serve Riga politicians Ministers of the Interior of Latvia Deputies of the 6th Saeima Deputies of the 8th Saeima Deputies of the 9th Saeima Mayors of Riga {{Latvia-politician-stub