The prime minister of Latvia ( lv, ministru prezidents) is the most powerful member of the

Government of Latvia 200px, Meeting room of the Government of Latvia in the Palace of Justice The Government of Latvia is the central government of the Republic of Latvia. The Constitution of Latvia ( lv, Satversme) outlines the nation as a parliamentary republic ...

, who presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers. The officeholder is nominated by the

president of Latvia The president of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Valsts prezidents ) is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Latvian National Armed Forces, National Armed Forces of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. The term of office is four years. Before 1999, it w ...

, but must be able to obtain the support of a parliamentary majority in 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 ...

. 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 head of government was known as the chairman of the Council of Ministers. A direct translation of the official Latvian term is

minister-president A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. It ...

. Although the equivalent is used in some European languages, it is not used conventionally in English.

List

1918-1940

Political Party:

1940-1990

JANIS (VILIS) LACIS (1940-1959) Jānis Peive (1959-1963) Vitālijs Rubenis (1963-1970) Jurijs Rubenis (1970-1988) Vilnis Edvīns Bresis (1988-1990)

1990-present

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

Statistics

; Notes: During the 1918–1920 Independence War, Latvia was contested by two other governments: the government of Soviet Latvia, led by

Pēteris Stučka Pēteris Stučka, sometimes spelt Pyotr Ivanovich Stuchka (russian: Пётр Ива́нович Сту́чка, german: Peter Stutschka (in contemporary writings); – 25 January 1932), was a Latvian jurist and communist politician who served a ...

, and the government of

Andrievs Niedra Andrievs Niedra ( old orthography: ''Andreews Needra''; 8 February 1871 – 25 September 1942) was a Latvian writer, Lutheran pastor and the Prime Minister of the German puppet government in Latvia between April and June 1919, during the Latvian ...

, backed by

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

s. Some sources may list Stučka and Niedra as prime ministers for periods when their governments controlled most of Latvia. On 15 May 1934, prime minister Ulmanis dissolved parliament and banned all political parties (including his own ''Farmer's Union''), establishing authoritarian rule. Puppet leader appointed by Soviet authorities. Not recognized as such by the Latvian government.

References

External links

Official list from the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers
{{Prime Minister Latvia, Prime Minister of Lists of political office-holders in Latvia 1918 establishments in Latvia he:פוליטיקה של לטביה#ראש ממשלת לטביה