Krišjānis Kariņš
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Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš (; born 13 December 1964) is a
Latvian American Latvian Americans () are Americans who are of Latvian ancestry. According to the 2019 American Community Survey, there are 85,723 Americans of full or partial Latvian descent. History The first significant wave of Latvian settlers who immigra ...
politician who served as the
prime minister of Latvia The prime minister of Latvia () is the most powerful member of the Government of Latvia, who presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers. The officeholder is nominated by the president of Latvia, but must be able to obtain the support of a p ...
from 2019 until 2023. A linguist and businessman by profession, he previously served as Latvia's minister of Economics and a
Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
. Born in Wilmington,
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
, United States, to parents who had left Latvia during the
Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...
, he was active in the American Latvian community throughout his youth. After graduating with a bachelor's degree ''
summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
'' and PhD in
linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, Kariņš moved to Latvia in 1997 and founded a frozen food business. He helped found the
New Era Party The New Era Party (, JL) was a centre-right political party in Latvia. Founded in 2002, the party merged with Civic Union and Society for Other Politics to form Unity in 2011. New Era was a member of the European People's Party (EPP), and ...
in 2002, which in 2011 merged with others to form the Unity Party (renamed
New Unity The New Unity (, JV) is a centre-right political alliance in Latvia. Its members are Unity and four other regional parties, and it is orientated towards liberal-conservatism and liberalism. History Before the 2018 Latvian parliamentary ele ...
in 2018). After serving as a deputy in Latvia's parliament (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 p ...
), as Minister of Economics, and also as a Member of the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Kariņš was selected by New Unity to be its prime ministerial candidate in the
2018 Latvian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Latvia on 6 October 2018. Following the elections, a coalition government was formed by Who owns the state?, the New Conservative Party, Development/For!, the National Alliance and New Unity. Despite lea ...
. Following the election, New Unity was the smallest party elected to the 13th Saeima. Following months of contentious negotiations in which leaders of the larger parties were unable to form a coalition, Kariņš was nominated by President
Raimonds Vējonis Raimonds Vējonis (born 15 June 1966) is a Latvian politician who served as the 9th President of Latvia from 2015 to 2019 and the president of the Latvian Basketball Association since 2020. He is a member of the Latvian Green Party, part of the ...
in January 2019 as a compromise candidate to form a government. He took office on 23 January 2019 at the head of a five-party coalition, and survived a 58–33 vote of no confidence on 11 April 2019. During his tenure, he led the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the 2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis. He announced his resignation as prime minister on 14 August 2023 due to conflicts within the coalition led by his party and left office upon election of his successor on 15 September 2023.


Early life

Kariņš was born in Wilmington,
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, to a
Latvian American Latvian Americans () are Americans who are of Latvian ancestry. According to the 2019 American Community Survey, there are 85,723 Americans of full or partial Latvian descent. History The first significant wave of Latvian settlers who immigra ...
family. As child refugees, his parents, with their respective families, fled the Soviet re-occupation of Latvia in 1944, grew up, met and married in Sweden before migrating to the United States. His father, Uldis, was a civil engineer who in 1973 founded the engineering, planning and surveying firm Karins and Associates in Delaware, which would later go on to acquire other companies in the
Mid-Atlantic Mid-Atlantic or Mid Atlantic can refer to: *The middle of the Atlantic Ocean *Mid-Atlantic English, any mix between British and American English *Mid-Atlantic Region (Little League World Series), one of the United States geographic divisions of the ...
region. According to Kariņš, he and his older sister were the only two ethnic Latvian children in their elementary school. His family was active in Delaware's Latvian community, regularly attending Latvian church and Sunday school, singing in Latvian choirs, and attending and later working at Latvian summer camps including Garezers in
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. Throughout his youth, Kariņš played guitar and drums with his Latvian friends in a band that traveled throughout the United States and played at events such as weddings. He also took part in demonstrations in Washington, D.C., against the Soviet occupation. Kariņš first visited Latvia in 1984 and he spent summers there until moving to the country full-time in 1997.


Education and business career

After graduating from high school, Kariņš studied at the Münster Latvian Gymnasium in 1983. One of his teachers was
Egils Levits Egils Levits (born 30 June 1955) is a Latvian politician, lawyer, political scientist and jurist who served as the tenth president of Latvia from 2019 to 2023. He was a List of members of the European Court of Justice, member of the European Cour ...
, who was elected
President of Latvia The president of Latvia ( ) 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 this office is four years. Before 1999, it was three years. The presi ...
in 2019 a few months after Kariņš would become
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
. From 1984 to 1986, he studied at St. John's College in
Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
, before switching to a linguistics program at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
where he graduated ''
summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
'' in 1988. In 1990, he received a grant from the American government to take Russian language classes in
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, and in 1994, he received another government scholarship to study pitch accents and to teach
sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is the descriptive, scientific study of how language is shaped by, and used differently within, any given society. The field largely looks at how a language changes between distinct social groups, as well as how it varies unde ...
courses as a guest lecturer at 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 ...
. In 1996, Kariņš finished a Ph.D. in
linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
and specialized in the field of automatic speech recognition. Soon after, he moved to Latvia, where he intended on teaching language but was denied a teaching position as an academic due to inexperience in teaching. Instead, he founded ''Lāču ledus'', a producer and distributor of ice and frozen foods, that he led until 2002. According to Kariņš, negative experiences working with the Latvian bureaucracy during his time in business was his original inspiration for joining Latvian politics. He was also briefly the president of an automobile and office supplies company called ''Formula'' from 1999 to 2000.


Political career


New Era Party, Saeima deputy and Minister for Economics

In the early 2000s, Einars Repše invited Kariņš to take part in the founding of the
New Era Party The New Era Party (, JL) was a centre-right political party in Latvia. Founded in 2002, the party merged with Civic Union and Society for Other Politics to form Unity in 2011. New Era was a member of the European People's Party (EPP), and ...
, and Kariņš helped write the party's original platform. He was elected to 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 p ...
on the party's ticket in October 2002, with New Era becoming the single largest party in parliament. While in the Saeima, he served on the education, culture, and science committee as well as on the constitutional committee. He also served as the chairman of the parliamentary faction of New Era from 2002 to 2004. Upon the resignation of prime minister Einars Repše in early 2004, Kariņš was discussed as a candidate to become the next prime minister. However, he was passed over by President
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga (; born 1 December 1937) is a Latvian politician who served as the sixth president of Latvia from 1999 to 2007. She is the first and to date only woman to hold the post and the most recent to be re-elected for a second ter ...
in favor of
Indulis Emsis Indulis Emsis (born 2 January 1952) is a Latvian biologist and politician. He was Prime Minister of Latvia for ten months in 2004, the first Green politician to lead a country in the history of the world. He was Speaker of the Saeima, the Latvia ...
, and again in favor of Aigars Kalvitīs after Emsis's resignation a few months later. He instead became Minister for Economics in the First Kalvītis cabinet from December 2004 to April 2006. According to Kariņš, he had a contentious relationship with Kalvītis during his time as minister. In April 2006, Kariņš was threatened with prosecution due to his relationship with a company that allegedly misused EU funds. Although Kariņš initially refused to resign, his entire New Era party left the government on 6 April 2006 due to an ongoing conflict with Kalvītis and his People's Party. Kariņš was re-elected to the Saeima on 7 October 2006. Although New Era was tied for the second largest party in parliament with 18 seats, the party did not re-join Kalvītis's coalition and remained in opposition. In March 2007 Kariņš became one of two co-leaders of New Era together with Repše. When New Era voted to merge with the
Unity Unity is the state of being as one (either literally or figuratively). It may also refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpoo ...
party in July 2011, Kariņš became a member of Unity. In July 2017, he criticized five members of parliament who left Unity for the new For! party as being primarily motivated by their re-election prospects, and indicated that he would not be leaving the party as his "values had not changed." He remained a member when the party was renamed "New Unity" in April 2018.


Member of European Parliament

In July 2009, Kariņš became a Member of
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
. He was a Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, substitute in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and was a substitute in the Special Committee on Tax Rulings and Other Measures Similar in Nature or Effect. In the Parliament he was part of the
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...
, the largest political grouping the parliament. He was also a member of the
Reconciliation of European Histories Group The Reconciliation of European Histories Group is an informal all-party group in the European Parliament involved in promoting the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism, Prague Process in all of Europe, aimed at coming to terms ...
. Kariņš was re-elected at the
2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties field ...
. In a May 2015 interview, Kariņš argued in favor of Latvia accepting its controversial quota of refugees proposed by the European Union in order to alleviate the
European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...
, saying that in the future Latvia would expect help from other EU countries in settling Ukrainian migrants from a potential major crisis. Upon assuming the prime ministership, Aleksejs Loskutovs took his seat in European Parliament.


Committee assignments

* Industry, Research and Energy * Committee of Inquiry into Emission Measurements in the Automotive Sector * Special committee on financial crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance


2018 candidacy for Prime Minister

On 23 April 2018, Kariņš was announced as New Unity's candidate for the Latvian premiership for the 2018 election. He decided not to run for election to the Saeima, instead choosing to maintain his seat in the European Parliament. In announcing his candidacy, he criticized the Kučinskis government as "foolish," even though five of the thirteen ministers were fellow members of New Unity. Despite polls predicting as late as July that New Unity would not receive the minimum 5% share of the vote necessary for election to the Saeima, the party was able to stage a comeback and on 6 October was elected as the smallest of seven parties with just eight seats. On 7 January 2019, he was tasked by Latvian President
Raimonds Vējonis Raimonds Vējonis (born 15 June 1966) is a Latvian politician who served as the 9th President of Latvia from 2015 to 2019 and the president of the Latvian Basketball Association since 2020. He is a member of the Latvian Green Party, part of the ...
with forming the next government, following the failures of previous nominees
Jānis Bordāns Jānis Bordāns (born 21 June 1967) is a Latvian politician and lawyer, the Deputy Prime Minister and the former Minister of Justice of the Republic of Latvia from 2019 to 2022, and previously from 2012 to 2014 . Bordāns served as Minister of J ...
and
Aldis Gobzems Aldis Gobzems (born October 10, 1978) is a Latvian politician and lawyer. He first rose to prominence as a lawyer who represented victims of the 2013 Zolitūde shopping centre roof collapse, and was the prime ministerial candidate for the Who Ow ...
in a contentious negotiation process. In accepting the nomination, Kariņš announced that his government's priorities would include financial sector reform, education reform, anti-corruption action, and liquidation of a controversial green energy surcharge that had been abused by companies in previous years. Mayor of
Ventspils Ventspils () is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and ...
Aivars Lembergs Aivars Lembergs (born 26 September 1953) is a Latvian politician, oligarch, and convicted money launderer who was the mayor of Ventspils from 1988 to 2021, a mandate from which he has been suspended since 2008. In February 2021, Lembergs was fou ...
called on Kariņš, a dual citizen of both the United States and Latvia, to give up his American citizenship while the prime minister, but he refused to do so. Kariņš took office as prime minister on 23 January 2019, leading a broad
centre-right coalition The centre-right coalition () is a political alliance of political parties in Italy active under several forms and names since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed the party. It has mostly competed with the centre-left c ...
of five conservative and liberal parties that includes KPV LV, New Conservative Party,
Development/For! Development/For! ( Latvian: ''Attīstībai/Par!,'' AP!) was a liberal political alliance A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicia ...
,
National Alliance National Alliance may refer to: Electoral alliances *National Alliance (Egypt) (2015) * National Alliance (Ireland) (2024 onwards) * National Alliance (Pakistan) (2002-2004) *Nation Alliance (Turkey) (2018-2023) Political parties and organizations ...
and New Unity. The
Union of Greens and Farmers The Union of Greens and Farmers (, ZZS) is an agrarian political alliance in Latvia. It is made up of the Latvian Farmers' Union, Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party, and For Latvia and Ventspils. It is positioned in the centre on the ...
and
Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...
parties went into opposition, as did independent Member of Parliament
Jūlija Stepaņenko Julija Stepanenko (, ; born Julija Fedotova on 1 September 1977) is a Latvian politician and lawyer, serving as a deputy of the Saeima, the parliament of Latvia. Formerly a member of Honor to serve Riga and Law and Order, she is now a member of ...
.


2019 European elections

Kariņš led his party into the 2019 European Parliament elections in
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 ...
. His party lost half of their seats, going to 2 from 4.


2022 candidacy for Prime Minister

In June 2022, the New Unity party announced that Kariņš would once again serve as their candidate for prime minister. On September 9, the Latvian Association of Journalists criticized Kariņš for not participating in public debates and being overly selective for which interview programs he appeared on.


Prime minister

During his confirmation session, Kariņš promised that his government would be "evolutionary, not revolutionary”, and announced a seven-point program that prioritized financial sector reform, implementing anti-corruption measures, continuing the Kučinskis government's education reforms, improving but not overhauling the health care system, eliminating the controversial green energy subsidy, reducing the number of
administrative divisions Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
, and addressing "demographic issues." On 5 April 2019, he supported Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development Juris Pūce's action in dismissing long-serving Mayor of Riga
Nils Ušakovs Nils Ušakovs (; born 8 June 1976) is a Latvian politician, former mayor of Riga and former journalist. He was the board chairman of the left-wing party alliance Harmony Centre (2005–2014) and afterwards board chairman of the Social Democrati ...
from his position due to multiple violations of the law.


Domestic policy


Financial sector reform

On 13 June 2019, the Saeima approved measures that allowed Latvian institutions to implement UN sanctions more quickly, reduced the Financial and Capital Market Commission from five members to just three, and made these commissioners' positions subject to appointment by parliament. Commission chairman Peters Putniņš protested that the measures would allow politicians to have greater control of what should be a non-political regulatory body.


Education

Upon his confirmation, Kariņš announced that his government would continue implementing reforms that had been planned by the previous government led by
Māris Kučinskis Māris Kučinskis (born 28 November 1961) is a Latvian politician, who served as the prime minister of Latvia, from 2016 to 2019. Early life and career Māris Kučinskis was born on 28 November 1961, in Limbaži district, Latvia, where he liv ...
. These included the reorganization and liquidation of schools that had low numbers of students, the gradual transition to Latvian-only education in public high schools, and new competence-based curriculum standards. On 7 February 2019, Kariņš announced that there would be no increase in 2019 to teachers' salaries as promised according to a timetable agreed upon by the Latvian teachers' union and the Kučinskis cabinet. This led to a picket protest on 20 March, as well as the threat of an indefinite strike later that year. In an interview on 28 February, Kariņš expressed a wish to raise teachers' salaries without having to raise taxes, finding savings by liquidating and consolidating schools with low numbers of students. On 30 March, Minister for Education Inga Šuplinska claimed that money to finance the planned wage increases could be found by mid-May. In April 2019, the Kariņš government announced a proposal for four tiers of minimum student numbers for schools based on the municipality's size and location. According to Šuplinska, roughly half of Latvia's schools would not meet the minimum requirements under the plan. On 23 April 2019, the Constitutional Court of Latvia ruled that the planned transition to Latvian as the sole language of instruction in public schools did not violate the constitution. In June 2022, Saeima approved a government proposal to accelerate the transition to Latvian language-only instruction at
preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...
and
primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...
levels of the education system so that it would be completed by the year 2025. On 16 September 2022, a strike by education sector workers was narrowly avoided when a compromise agreement to raise teachers' salaries and balance their workloads between contact hours and preparation hours was reached between the Kariņš government and the Latvian Trade Union of Education and Science Employees just three days before the indefinite strike was set to begin.


Health care reform

In February 2019, the Kariņš government announced that it would abandon the "two basket" system of health care funding that the Kučinskis government had begun to implement, a reform which would have made full access to state-provided health care only available to people paying social contribution taxes. The government announced in April 2019 that the health care system and tax code would both be reformed in 2021.


Green energy subsidy

On 11 April 2019, he survived a 58-33
vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
spearheaded by Saeima Deputy
Aldis Gobzems Aldis Gobzems (born October 10, 1978) is a Latvian politician and lawyer. He first rose to prominence as a lawyer who represented victims of the 2013 Zolitūde shopping centre roof collapse, and was the prime ministerial candidate for the Who Ow ...
for not adhering to the Saeima's demand that his government cancel the green energy subsidy by the end of March. On that day, in a phone interview with Latvian Public Radio, he committed to canceling the subsidy within a reasonable timeframe and argued that the Minister of Economics, Ralfs Nemiro, Gobzems's former party member, had already published a report proving that doing so by the end of March was a legal impossibility.


Administrative territory reform

On 9 April 2019, Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development Juris Pūce announced a controversial plan for the Kariņš government to reduce the number of municipalities in Latvia from 119 to 35, eliminating the "republican city" status for all cities aside from the capital of Rīga. The government attempted to block the town of
Ikšķile Ikšķile (, ; , or ; ; ) is a town in Ogre Municipality, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It was the first capital of the Roman Catholic Bishopric of Livonia, known by the List of German exonyms for places in Latvia, German name of Uexküll, ...
from holding a survey regarding citizen's opinions about the reform, claiming that municipalities only have the legal right to hold public debates on municipal issues, but the survey continued as planned and found that 98.45% of respondents were opposed to the reforms. After a number of amendments, such as granting ten cities the status of "national city" with seven remaining separate municipalities and increasing the amount of municipalities to 43 overall, the new system of municipalities came into effect on 1 July 2021.


Foreign policy

Like his predecessors, Kariņš has stressed a commitment to a western-oriented foreign policy and has expressed caution regarding Russia's foreign policy intentions. On 7 January 2019, he announced that fellow party member
Edgars Rinkēvičs Edgars Rinkēvičs (born 21 September 1973) is a Latvian public official and politician serving as the 11th and current president of Latvia since July 2023. He previously served as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Latvia), minister of foreign af ...
, who had already at the time been Latvia's longest-serving foreign minister and had worked under prime ministers
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 serv ...
,
Laimdota Straujuma Laimdota Straujuma (born 24 February 1951) is a Latvian economist who was the prime minister of Latvia from January 2014 to February 2016. Before her tenure as prime minister, she served as the minister of Agriculture from 2011 to 2014. She was ...
, and
Māris Kučinskis Māris Kučinskis (born 28 November 1961) is a Latvian politician, who served as the prime minister of Latvia, from 2016 to 2019. Early life and career Māris Kučinskis was born on 28 November 1961, in Limbaži district, Latvia, where he liv ...
, would continue in his current role. On 8 February, he made his first foreign visit to the neighboring country of Estonia, stressing the importance of relations between the two nations.


European Union

On his first official visit to Brussels on 22 February 2019, Kariņš assured that Latvia would maintain a "Euro-Atlantic course," and that Brexit negotiator
Michel Barnier Michel Jean Barnier (; born 9 January 1951) is a French politician who was Prime Minister of France from September to December 2024. A member of a series of Gaullist parties ( UDR, RPR, UMP, LR), Barnier has served in several French cabinet p ...
had his full support. He addressed European Parliament on 17 April, arguing that it was "useless" to fight against the rise of
populism Populism is a essentially contested concept, contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the "common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently a ...
and that it was necessary to understand why people listened to the promises of populists. In a 9 May meeting with other EU leaders in
Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...
,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, he expressed support for the ''Spitzenkandidat'' process of electing a new European Commissioner used in 2014 that had come under fire by other leaders such as President
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...
of
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and President
Dalia Grybauskaitė Dalia Grybauskaitė (; born 1 March 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the eighth president of Lithuania from 2009 to 2019. She is the first and so far only woman to hold the position and in 2014 she became the first President of Li ...
of
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. Along with
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Andrej Plenković Andrej Plenković ( ; born 8 April 1970) is a Croatian politician serving as the Prime Minister of Croatia, prime minister of Croatia since October 2016. He was previously one of eleven List of members of the European Parliament for Croatia, 201 ...
of
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, Kariņš represented the governments ruled by the center-right
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...
(EPP) in the negotiations on new appointments to top posts in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
following the 2019 European elections, including the
European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...
, the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
and the
European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central component of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#International ...
.


Belarus

During Kariņš' tenure, relations with neighbouring country Belarus have become increasingly strained. In January 2021, Kariņš declared that he would not see it possible for
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
to host the
2021 IIHF World Championship The 2021 IIHF World Championship () took place from 21 May to 6 June 2021. It was originally to be co-hosted by Minsk, Belarus and Riga, Latvia, as the IIHF announced on 19 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany. Their joint bid won by a very tight margin ...
because of violent suppression of peaceful protests in Belarus. On 12 August 2021, a state of emergency was declared at the Belarus-Latvia border following a surge of immigration. On 23 August, Kariņš joined the prime ministers of Poland, Lithuania, and Estonia in releasing a statement that blamed Belarusian president
Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...
for "using immigrants to destabilize neighbouring countries".


Russia

Throughout Kariņš' term as prime minister, relations between Latvia and Russia significantly worsened, particularly following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
. At the Riga StratCom Dialogue in May 2022, Kariņš said that, "in order to ensure peace and security in Europe and the world, Russia must lose this war. Ukraine must win. This is the only way we can return to a peaceful life". At the same meeting, he also criticized certain western European leaders' perceived willingness to negotiate with Russia over the conflict. In a summit of Baltic sea countries in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, Kariņš said that "countries surrounding the Baltic Sea should minimise economic cooperation with Russia, especially in the energy sector". On 25 August 2022, a Soviet war memorial that had been protected under a treaty between Latvia and Russia was torn down. Kariņš said that along with decreasing energy dependence on Russia, this action "freed Latvia from the lasting consequences of occupation." On 8 September 2022, the Kariņš government approved additional restrictions on the entry of Russian citizens into Latvia via the
external border of the European Union The border of the European Union consists of the land borders that member states of the EU share with non-EU states adjacent to the union. The EU shares land borders with 21 countries and 3 dependencies. List The lengths of the borders the Eu ...
, with Kariņš saying that Russian citizens freely moving around the EU while Russia invaded Ukraine was " unacceptable both from a moral and security considerations".


Ukraine

Under the Kariņš government, Latvia has supported Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. On 23 February 2022, one day before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Latvia delivered
FIM-92 Stinger The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters and drones as th ...
surface-to-air missiles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. On 24 February, immediately following the invasion, Kariņš announced that Latvia was ready to take in 10,000 refugees. By August, over 36,000 Ukrainian refugees were registered in Latvia. Kariņš supported the June 2022 decision by the
European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...
to grant Ukraine and Moldova candidate status, saying that the decision would, "play an important role in implementing the necessary reforms in both new candidate countries".


COVID-19 pandemic

On 12 March 2020, Kariņš announced a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, declaring that schools would be closed as of the next day and begin distance learning in addition to large gatherings being banned. After being extended in April, the state of emergency came to an end on 10 June. A second state of emergency was announced on 9 November 2020, which was extended on 1 December, 30 December and 5 February 2021, and came to an end on 7 April. In January 2021, Kariņš requested that Minister of Health Ilze Viņķele resign after criticizing her vaccination plan as inadequate.
Daniels Pavļuts Daniels Pavļuts (born 14 May 1976 in Jūrmala, Latvia) is a Latvian politician and former Minister for Health of Latvia from January 2021 to December 2022. He was formerly the Ministry of Economics (Latvia), Minister for Economics of Latvia, a po ...
was confirmed as her replacement on 7 January. A third state of emergency was proclaimed on 8 October 2021, which came into effect on 11 October. On October 20, the Kariņš government implemented a month-long "
lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...
" in response to requests from the medical sector and Minister of Health
Daniels Pavļuts Daniels Pavļuts (born 14 May 1976 in Jūrmala, Latvia) is a Latvian politician and former Minister for Health of Latvia from January 2021 to December 2022. He was formerly the Ministry of Economics (Latvia), Minister for Economics of Latvia, a po ...
. The same day, the government approved amendments that would allow employers to terminate contracts with employees who do not have a valid certificate of vaccination or recovery from COVID-19. Initially, Kariņš was praised by international media for his government's handling of the early phases of the pandemic in Spring 2021. However, as the situation continued and new, more serious outbreaks occurred in Latvia throughout late 2020 and 2021, Kariņš's government became widely criticized for its management of the pandemic. On 11 October 2021, a group of experts that had been established by the Kariņš government earlier in the year ceased their cooperation with the government, with spokesman Klāvs Sedlenieks explaining that the group did not feel their work was resulting in informed decision making and that their recommendations were being used as part of the political process.


Resignation

He announced his resignation as prime minister on 14 August 2023 citing conflicts within the coalition led by his party. He was succeeded by
Evika Siliņa Evika Siliņa (; born 3 August 1975) is a Latvian lawyer and politician who has been serving as the prime minister of Latvia since 15 September 2023. From 2022 to 2023, she served as in the Second Kariņš cabinet, second cabinet of prime minist ...
on 15 September 2023.


Foreign minister

Shortly after stepping down as prime minister, Kariņš joined Siliņa's government as foreign minister in September 2023. On 28 November, he announced his intention to seek the nomination to become the next
Secretary General of NATO The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an intergovernmental military alliance with 32 member states. The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinat ...
, saying that the alliance needed a consensus builder who is committed to higher defense spending and possessed a clear vision in managing relations with Russia. On 28 March 2024, Kariņš announced that he was resigning as foreign minister effective 10 April following a decision by the Latvian prosecutor general’s office to initiate criminal proceedings over the alleged misuse of public funds in the utilization of private aviation services by Kariņš and his delegations during his prime ministership. In April,
Baiba Braže Baiba Braže (born 4 December 1966) is a Latvian politician and diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Latvia), Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2024. She previously served as the NATO, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Publi ...
was confirmed as Minister of Foreign Affairs in his place, while Kariņš returned to work in the Saeima. At the end of August, A. K. Kariņš announced the suspension of his mandate as a member of the Saeima.


Gaza war

In November 2023, Kariņš accused
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
of using Palestinian civilians as human shields in the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
in the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
. Kariņš rejected calls for a ceasefire but said he supported "humanitarian pauses" to deliver aid to the people of Gaza.


Personal life

Kariņš is married to
general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...
doctor Anda Kariņa, and has four children. In March 2019, Saeima Deputy Aldis Gobzems asked law enforcement officials to investigate a Skolas iela 2 property transaction between Kariņš and wife Kariņa from one side and Russian citizens, who are associated with Gazprom International and
Government of Moscow The Government of Moscow (, ) is the highest executive body of state authority of Moscow. The Government of Moscow is headed by the highest official of the city of Moscow, i.e. the Mayor of Moscow. The members of the Government of Moscow are the ...
from another, that he alleged could be related to money laundering and tax avoidance. On 18 May 2019, state police announced that they would not be initiating criminal proceedings after finding no signs of illegal wrongdoing. Aside from his native Latvian and English, he speaks fluent
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, French, and some
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
. During a visit to
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
in January 2020, Kariņš stated in a meeting with President
Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...
that it is easier for him to comprehend Russian than to speak, which leads him to speak to Russian-speakers through an interpreter "so as not to say something wrong".


References


External links


Official website
of Krišjānis Kariņš
Official website
of the Prime Minister of Latvia
Official website
of Member of Parliament Krišjānis Kariņš
Biography of Krišjānis Kariņš
on New Unity's official website.
News archive
on Latvian Public Media , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Karins, Arturs Krisjanis 1964 births Living people Politicians from Wilmington, Delaware Christians from Delaware American people of Latvian descent New Era Party politicians New Unity politicians Prime ministers of Latvia Ministers of foreign affairs of Latvia Deputies of the 8th Saeima Deputies of the 9th Saeima Deputies of the 14th Saeima New Era Party MEPs MEPs for Latvia 2009–2014 MEPs for Latvia 2014–2019 University of Pennsylvania alumni Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 2nd Class