Mārtiņš Staķis (born 4 July 1979) is a Latvian politician and businessman, Mayor of Riga from 2020 to 2023. He served as 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 13th

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 ...

, the Latvian parliament, until he resigned on 5 June 2020. On 29 August 2020, Staķis was elected to the

Riga City Council Riga City Council () is the government of the city of Riga, the capital of Latvia. Its meeting place is in the Riga Town Hall (''Rīgas rātsnams)'' at the Town Hall Square (''Rātslaukums'') in the very heart of Riga. The Riga City Council con ...

, and on 2 October, elected Mayor of

Riga 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 ...

Biography

Staķis is the son of Dagnija Staķe, the former Minister of Regional Development and Local Governments of Latvia. He graduated from the Tukums Rainis Gymnasium in 2004 and obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

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 ...

, specializing in municipal organization. He also studied at the

Helsinki School of Economics The Aalto University School of Business (; ), is the largest business school in Finland. Founded in 1911, it is the second oldest business school in Finland and one of the oldest business schools in the Nordic countries. The school became part of ...

in Finland. Staķis started his working life in a Narvesen kiosk and for more than a decade, from 1999 to 2010, worked as a marketing director. Since 2010, he has been a businessman, distributor of the coffee brand ''

illy Illycaffè S.p.A. (branded and stylised as illy) is an Italian coffee company specializing in espresso, headquartered in Trieste. Illy markets its coffee globally in silver and red pressurized, oxygen-free cans; operates a network of cafes on sh ...

'' and owner of ''Innocent Cafe'' in

. He gained public recognition for hosting the TV show ''Saknes debesīs'' on LTV1. He has also been active in the

Latvian National Guard The Latvian National Guard or NG (, ZS) is a part of the Military of Latvia, Latvian National Armed Forces. The National Guard is a basic land component, consisting of volunteers who perform traditional National Guard (disambiguation), national g ...

as well as working as a volunteer for the youth educational organization '' MOT''. Staķis is one of the founders and members of the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

''Pa Saulei'' as well as a board member of the St. Gertrude Old Church in Riga. He is one of the authors behind the ''Ū vitamīns'' initiative, aiming to provide free drinking water in cafes, restaurants and other public places.

Political work

In August 2017, Staķis helped found ''

Movement For! Movement For! () is a liberal political party in Latvia. Staķis was elected in the Riga Constituency 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 ...

s, representing the ''

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 ...

'' alliance, formed between his own ''

Movement For! Movement For! () is a liberal political party in Latvia.classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, eco ...

For Latvia's Development For Latvia's Development (, abbr. LA) is a classical liberal political party in Latvia. It is positioned on the centre-right on the political spectrum. From 2018 to 2022 it was one of the members of the Development/For! alliance, before it ''de ...

''. Before the election, Staķis was discussed as a possible candidate for the office of

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

. Before the 2020 Riga City Council elections, Staķis gave up his seat in the

on 5 June 2020, and party colleague Krista Baumane took over his seat. On 29 August 2020,

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

were held, with the alliance between

and The Progressives winning 18 seats, the most of any electoral list. On 2 October 2020 Staķis was elected Mayor, leading a broad coalition consisting of

, The Progressives,

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 ...

, the

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 ...

, the

Latvian Association of Regions The Latvian Association of Regions or Latvian Regional Alliance (, LRA) is a centrist political party in Latvia. It was founded as an alliance on 13 March 2014 and is headed by former Unity MP Edvards Smiltēns. History The alliance won 8 ...

and the New Conservative Party. On 24 March 2022, Staķis announced that he was leaving

after disagreements in the alliance about the

City development plan. Staķis accused the Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development Artūrs Toms Plešs of

lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

to the casino industry, which led him vetoing the law. On 3 July 2023, Mārtiņš Staķis resigned as chairman of the Riga City Council, citing a split the ruling coalition. Staķis said he could no longer take responsibility for the City Council's decisions, especially after his coalition partners voted with the opposition. This came after Staķis supported an investigation into possible misuse of city funds in the Traffic Department. On 9 January 2024, Staķis joined the

Progressives Progressivism is a left-leaning political philosophy and reform movement that seeks to advance the human condition through social reform. Adherents hold that progressivism has universal application and endeavor to spread this idea to human so ...

party, having previously worked together with them in his coalition administration and from its list will be candidates in the 2024 European Parliament elections.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staķis, Mārtiņš 1979 births Living people Latvian businesspeople University of Latvia alumni Mayors of Riga Deputies of the 13th Saeima 21st-century Latvian businesspeople The Progressives (Latvia) politicians MEPs for Latvia 2024–2029