Jānis Šmits (1 April 1968 – 23 September 2019) was a

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 ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

. He was a member of the

Latvia's First Party The Latvia's First Party () was a socially conservative, Christian-democratic right-wing political party in Latvia. It merged with Latvian Way to form Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way in 2007. It was founded on 25 May 2002, led by Ēriks J ...

and a

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

of the 8th and 9th

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 p ...

(Latvian Parliament). He was a member of parliament from March 18, 2004 to January 15, 2009. From 2009 he was a member of the

Rīga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

City Council. He was well known for his outspoken conservative stance regarding the defense of

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

values and criticism of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

. Šmits graduated from the

University of Latvia University of Latvia (, shortened ''LU'') is a public research university located in Riga, Latvia. The university was established in 1919. History The University of Latvia, initially named as the Higher School of Latvia () was founded on Se ...

Faculty of

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

in 1997 and subsequently served in a number of Latvian Lutheran churches. From 1994 to 1996 he was one of the military chaplains of the renewed Republic of Latvia Defense Forces. From 1997 to 2004 he was President of the

Lutheran Heritage Foundation Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

publishing house. In 2002 he was one of the initiators in the creation of the LPP. Following the creation of the party he became one of the members of the executive board and advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister on Religious affairs. He was also Secretary to the Council of Religious Affairs and actively promoted the re-establishment of laws regulating church and state relations. In 2004 he became as a member of Parliament, Secretary General of Saeima as well as the Chairman of the National Security Commission. From 2005 to 2006 he was also Chairman of the LPP fraction in Parliament. In 2006 he was again elected as a member of the 9th Saeima, and then elected to serve as Chairman of the Human Rights and Social Affairs Commission. Šmits' election to this post resulted in criticism by many liberal organizations. On January 15, 2009 he lost his seat as a member of Parliament. Since 2009 Šmits has been a member of Rīga City Council and the Chairman of Rīga City Collegium of Christian Congregations.

Sources

Informācija par deputātu
1968 births Politicians from Riga Latvian Lutheran clergy Latvia's First Party politicians Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way politicians Honor to serve Riga politicians Deputies of the 8th Saeima Deputies of the 9th Saeima University of Latvia alumni 2019 deaths Clergy from Riga {{Latvia-politician-stub