HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Māris Kučinskis (born 28 November 1961) is 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 ...
n 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 2016 to 2019.


Early life and career

Māris Kučinskis was born on 28 November 1961, in Limbaži district, Latvia, where he lived until the age of 16. After primary school in the village of Ķirbiži, he moved to the town of
Valmiera Valmiera () is the second largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020, it was at 24,879. It is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city, and ...
, where he studied at Valmiera Secondary School No. 4. After graduating in 1980, he began to work as an economist at the finance department of The Valmiera Board of People's Deputies. From 1981 to 1984, he served in the Soviet army and then entered the Faculty of management and economic information of the Latvian State University. At the same time, from 1984, he began to work as chief accountant at the Valmiera plant of fire prevention equipment. In 1987, Kučinskis was invited to become the chief economist of the district housing and communal department of The Valmiera Board of People's Deputies. In 1991, he founded the private company Apgāds Ltd, which specialized in the trade of construction materials. He worked there as deputy director until 1994 and as director from 1997 to 1998. While on a break from political activity from November 2011, Kučinskis was an adviser to the Deputy Executive Director of The Association of greater Latvian cities (Latvijas Lielo Pilsētu asociācijā, LLPA). This organization joins 9 Latvian cities of republican subordination. From September 2013 until February 2016, he was LLPA leader.


Political career


Mayor of Valmiera

Kučinskis was first elected to Valmiera city council in 1994 and became its chairman in 1996. He was re-elected in 1998 he was elected and continued as chairman until 2002. From 1998—2000 he was also Chairman of Valmiera district council. He joined the People's Party in 1997.


Saeima deputy and Minister of Environment and Regional Development

Kučinskis become a Deputy of 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 ...
for the first time in 2002 as a member of the People's Party, when its political boss
Andris Šķēle Andris Šķēle (born 16 January 1958) is a Latvian former politician and business oligarch. He served two terms as Prime Minister of Latvia from 1995 to 1997, and again from 1999 to 2000. Early life Šķēle graduated from the Latvian Agri ...
announced his retirement from politics, but remained, as he stated, an "ordinary member" of the Party and was thought to have a considerable behind-the-scenes influence. In the cabinet led by
Aigars Kalvītis Aigars Kalvītis (born 27 June 1966) is a Latvian businessman and a former politician who was the Prime Minister of Latvia from 2004 to 2007. Currently he is the president of Latvian Ice Hockey Federation and the Chairman of the Board of Latvia ...
, Kučinskis was Minister of Environment and Regional development from 2004-2006. In October 2006 Kučinskis was once more elected a Deputy of the Saeima and became a chairman of the People's Party faction in parliament. This position was subsequently given to Vineta Muižniece. In October 2009, when The People's Party found itself in a deep crisis, Šķēle returned to politics as the chairman of the party. Kučinskis began to work at the Board as a member. In 2010 Muižniece was appointed as a judge of the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
and Kučinskis returned to lead the parliamentary faction. In October 2010 Kučinskis was elected as a member of the parliament from the party alliance For a Good Latvia which included the People's Party. At the early election of 2011 Kučinskis ran for 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 ...
alliance, but didn't win a place in Parliament. When his party fraction member
Iveta Grigule Iveta is a given name. Notable people with the name include: People *Iveta Apkalna (born 1976), Latvian organist *Iveta Bartošová Iveta Bartošová (8 April 1966 – 29 April 2014) was a Czech people, Czech singer, actress and celebrity, three ...
was elected as a Deputy 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 ...
, he took her seat in the 11th Saeima. In October 2014 he was elected as a Deputy of the 12th Saeima and became the Chairman of the Parliamentary commission on long-term development.


Prime minister

On 13 January 2016 he was nominated by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Raimonds Vējonis to replace Laimdota Straujuma 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 ...
following her resignation the previous December and his cabinet was approved by 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 11 February. He was the first prime minister not to be a member of the Unity Party or one of its predecessors since 2009, and the first from 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 ...
since 2004. Under Kučinskis, Latvia raised defense spending to fulfill its commitment as a member of NATO to spend 2% of the country's GDP on defense. In July 2017, he rejected American President Donald Trump's proposal that NATO raise its spending requirement to 4% of GDP. In March 2016, Kučinskis supported acquiescing to a demand by
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
for €3 billion in exchange for keeping refugees from the Syrian Civil War, arguing that the payment would be more favorable than an "uncontrolled migrant flow" to Latvia.


2018 parliamentary election

On 12 February 2018, Kučinskis confirmed that he would run in the October 2018 election, and that he would be willing to serve another term as prime minister if his party was successful enough in the elections. On 6 October, the Union of Greens and Farmers lost 10 seats in Saeima and became the sixth largest faction in parliament. Four days after the election, New Conservative Party leader Jānis Bordāns announced his party would refuse to work in a coalition with the Union of Greens and Farmers. Although Bordāns would fail to form a government, the New Conservative Party eventually formed a coalition with Who Owns The State?, Development/For!, National Alliance, and New Unity while the Union of Greens and Farmers went into opposition with
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 ...
. Kučinskis was replaced by New Unity candidate
Krišjānis Kariņš Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš (; born 13 December 1964) is a Latvian American politician who served as the prime minister of Latvia from 2019 until 2023. A linguist and businessman by profession, he previously served as Latvia's minister of Economic ...
as prime minister on 23 January 2019.


Post-premiership

Despite losing the prime ministership, Kučinskis was re-elected to Saeima in the October 2018 election, and became the head of the National Security Committee on 21 November over the objections of the New Conservative Party. On 11 April 2019, he joined his party in voting for a motion of no confidence against Kariņš that failed 33-58.


See also

* Kučinskis cabinet


References


External links


Official website
of Saeima Deputy Māris Kučinskis
Topic page
on
Public Broadcasting of Latvia Public Service Media of Latvia ( – LSM) is a publicly funded radio and television organization operated by both of Latvia's public broadcasters – Latvijas Televīzija, Latvian Television and Latvijas Radio, Radio Latvia. LSM provides news, a ...

Topic page
on
Delfi Delfi (occasionally capitalized as DELFI) is a news website in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania providing daily news, ranging from gardening to politics. It ranks as one of the most popular websites among Baltic users. Delfi operates in the re ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kucinskis, Maris 1961 births Living people People from Limbaži Municipality People's Party (Latvia) politicians Liepāja Party politicians Prime ministers of Latvia Ministers of regional development and local governments of Latvia Deputies of the 8th Saeima Deputies of the 9th Saeima Deputies of the 10th Saeima Deputies of the 11th Saeima Deputies of the 13th Saeima Deputies of the 14th Saeima University of Latvia alumni Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 2nd Class Ministers of the interior of Latvia United List (Latvia) politicians