Daniels Pavļuts (born 14 May 1976 in

Jūrmala Jūrmala (; "seaside") is a state city in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, about west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and is sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River. It has a stretch of white-sand beach and is the ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

) is a

n politician and former

Minister for Health of Latvia Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

from January 2021 to December 2022. He was formerly the

Minister for Economics of Latvia The Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia () is the leading state administrative institution responsible for economic policy in Latvia. The ministry also represents the economic interests of Latvia in the European Union. Minister for ...

, a position he served in from 2011 until 2014. In addition to his political and business career, he is a concert pianist.

Career

Prior to a career in politics, Pavļuts served as the head of corporate affairs at

Swedbank Swedbank AB is a Swedish multinational banking group headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. It operates primarily in the Nordic and Baltic regions, offering services such as retail banking, asset management and other financial services. Swedbank ...

AS in Riga, brand director for DDB Latvia, a member of the board at the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and a board member at ZENO Consulting. From 2003 to 2006, Pavļuts held the office of State Secretary at the

Ministry of Culture of Latvia Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

. In 2001, he worked as an adviser to the Director of Management and Communication at the

Latvian National Opera The Latvian National Opera and Ballet (LNOB) is an opera house and opera company at Aspazijas boulevard 3 in Riga. Its repertoire includes performances of opera and ballet presented during the season which lasts from mid-September to the end of ...

Minister of Health

On January 7, 2021, Pavļuts was elected new

, after the sitting minister, Ilze Viņķele had stepped down at Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš's request. During his tenure, he has overseen Latvia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although he was originally opposed to mandatory vaccination measures, in November 2021 Saeima passed a law allowing employers to dismiss employees who do not have a valid vaccination against or recovery from COVID-19. On 16 September 2021, Pavļuts survived a vote of no confidence measure 50-34. Hours after announcing the possibility of an emergency mobilisation of the Latvian medical field on 26 October, the Latvian Medical Association called for his resignation due to a perceived lack of communication and "unprofessional approach". Pavļuts did not resign, but promised better cooperation with the medical field and clarified that emergency mobilisation was not currently imminent.

Education

Pavļuts earned a Bachelor of Arts from

Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (), formerly the Riga Conservatory, is a higher music conservatory in Riga, Latvia. The junior institute is the Emīls Dārziņš Music School. History The Latvian Conservatory of Music was founded in ...

in 1999, a post-graduate diploma in Cultural Management from

City University London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

in 2000, and a Master of Public Administration from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 2007. He speaks Latvian, Russian, English, French, and German.

Personal life

Pavļuts was married with Linda Pavļuta from 2006 until 2018, with whom he has two sons. In 2021 he married Elīna Grīnhofa, with whom he has twins. In addition to his political and business career, Pavļuts is known as a concert pianist.

References

External links

Cabinet profile

Biography on the Ministry of Economics website

The Importance of Learning. Learning What Exactly?: Daniels Pavļuts at TEDxRiga
1976 births Living people People from Jūrmala Reform Party (Latvia) politicians Movement For! politicians Ministers of economics of Latvia Deputies of the 13th Saeima Harvard Kennedy School alumni Alumni of City, University of London {{Latvia-politician-stub