Prime Minister of Latvia

The prime minister of Latvia (Latvian: ministru prezidents) 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 parliamentary majority in the Saeima.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia
Latvijas Republikas Ministru prezidents
Flag of the prime minister of Latvia
Incumbent Evika Siliņa since 15 September 2023
Government of Latvia
Type	Head of government
Member of	Government of Latvia European Council Saeima
Appointer	President
Term length	No term limit
Inaugural holder	Kārlis Ulmanis
Formation	19 November 1918; 106 years ago (1918-11-19)
Abolished	1940–1991
Salary	€53,601 annually[1]

The tables below display all Latvian prime ministers from both the first period of Latvian independence (1918–1940) and since the country regained its independence (1990–present). From 1990 to 6 July 1993, the head of government was known as the chairman of the Council of Ministers.

A direct translation of the official Latvian term is minister-president. Although the equivalent is used in some European languages, it is not used conventionally in English.

List

1918–1940

Political party:   LZS   Independent   MP   DC   PA   LJSP

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party		Cabinet	Saeima
			Took office	Left office	Days
1[1]		Kārlis Ulmanis (1877–1942)	18 November 1918	13 July 1919	944		Latvian Farmers' Union	Provisional I LZS – LNP – DC – DS	People's Council
			14 July 1919	8 December 1919				Provisional II LZS – LŽNP DC joined later
			9 December 1919	11 June 1920				Provisional III LZS – LŽNP DS joined later
			12 June 1920	18 June 1921				Ulmanis I LZS – DS – LDP DS exited later	Const. Assembly (1920)
2		Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics (1887–1925)	19 June 1921	19 July 1922	587			Meierovics I LZS – DC – MP – LTP LTP exited later
			20 July 1922	26 January 1923		Meierovics II LZS – MP – LDP
3		Jānis Pauļuks (1865–1937)	27 January 1923	27 June 1923	152		Independent	Pauļuks LZS – LSPDS – DC – LJS – MP	1st (1922)
(2)		Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics (1887–1925)	28 June 1923	26 January 1924	213		Latvian Farmers' Union	Meierovics III LZS – LSPDS – DC – LJS – MP
4		Voldemārs Zāmuēls (1872–1948)	27 January 1924	18 December 1924	327		Independent	Zāmuēls BNC – DC – LJS
5		Hugo Celmiņš (1877–1941)	19 December 1924	23 December 1925	370		Latvian Farmers' Union	Celmiņš I LZS – DC MP and LJS joined later
(1)		Kārlis Ulmanis (1877–1942)	24 December 1925	6 May 1926	134			Ulmanis II LZS – LJSP – LJS – LZP NA joined later	2nd (1925)
6		Arturs Alberings (1877–1934)	7 May 1926	18 December 1926	226			Alberings LZS – DC – LJSP – LJS – LZP
7		Marģers Skujenieks (1886–1941)	19 December 1926	23 January 1928	401		Menshevik	Skujenieks I LSDSP – MP – LPP – DC – LJS DC exited cabinet
8		Pēteris Juraševskis (1872–1945)	24 January 1928	30 November 1928	312		Democratic Centre	Juraševskis LZS – DC – LZP – VRP / DbRP
(5)		Hugo Celmiņš (1877–1941)	1 December 1928	26 March 1931	846		Latvian Farmers' Union	Celmiņš II LZS – DC – LJSP – LDZA – LA – KNP – VRP / DbRP DC, KNP, VRP / DbRP exited cabinet	3rd (1928)
(1)		Kārlis Ulmanis (1877–1942)	27 March 1931	5 December 1931	254			Ulmanis III LZS – LJSP – LDZA – NA – MKRA – LKZP – LPP
(7)		Marģers Skujenieks (1886–1941)	6 December 1931	23 March 1933	474		Progressive Association of New Farmers	Skujenieks II PA – DC – LZS – LZPA LJSP joined later	4th (1931)
9		Ādolfs Bļodnieks (1889–1962)	24 March 1933	16 March 1934	358		Party of New Farmers and Smallholders	Bļodnieks LJSP – LZS – DC – LZPA – PA – LKKP – KDP DC, PA exited cabinet
(1)[2]		Kārlis Ulmanis (1877–1942)	17 March 1934	15 May 1934	2287		Latvian Farmers' Union	Ulmanis IV LZS – KA – LKKP – LPP – KDP
			15 May 1934	19 June 1940			Independent	Ulmanis V Independent
—[3]		Augusts Kirhenšteins (1872–1963)	20 June 1940	25 August 1940	66		Independent (Pro-LKP)	Kirhenšteins Independent – LKP

1990–present

From 4 May 1990 after adopting the Declaration of the Restoration of Independence of the Republic.

Political party:   LTF   LC   Independent   TB/LNNK   TP   JL   LZP   LPP/LC   V   LP   JV

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party		Cabinet	Saeima
			Took office	Left office	Days
10		Ivars Godmanis (born 1951)	7 May 1990	3 August 1993	1136		Popular Front of Latvia	Godmanis I LTF LC joined later	SC (1990)
11		Valdis Birkavs (born 1942)	3 August 1993	15 September 1994	408		Latvian Way	Birkavs LC – LZS – LZP	5th (1993)
12		Māris Gailis (born 1951)	15 September 1994	21 December 1995	462			Gailis LC – TPA – LZS – LZP TB joined later and exited cabinet
13		Andris Šķēle (born 1958)	21 December 1995	13 February 1997	595		Independent	Šķēle I DP'S' – TB – LC – LNNK – LZS – LZP – LVP	6th (1995)
			13 February 1997	7 August 1997				Šķēle II DP'S' – TB – LC – LNNK – LZS – LZP KDS joined later
14		Guntars Krasts (born 1957)	7 August 1997	26 November 1998	476		For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK	Krasts TB/LNNK – LC – LZS – LZP – DPS – KTP DPS and KTP exited cabinet
15		Vilis Krištopans (born 1954)	26 November 1998	16 July 1999	232		Latvian Way	Krištopans LC – TB/LNNK – JP LSDSP joined later	7th (1998)
(13)		Andris Šķēle (born 1958)	16 July 1999	5 May 2000	294		People's Party	Šķēle III TP – LC – TB/LNNK
16		Andris Bērziņš (born 1951)	5 May 2000	7 November 2002	916		Latvian Way	Bērziņš LC – TP – TB/LNNK – JP
17		Einars Repše (born 1961)	7 November 2002	9 March 2004	488		New Era Party	Repše JL – TB/LNNK – LZS – LPP – LZP LPP exited cabinet	8th (2002)
18		Indulis Emsis (born 1952)	9 March 2004	2 December 2004	268		Latvian Green Party	Emsis TP – LPP – LZS – LZP
19		Aigars Kalvītis (born 1966)	2 December 2004	7 November 2006	1113		People's Party	Kalvītis I TP – JL – LZS – LPP – LZP JL exited cabinet
			7 November 2006	20 December 2007				Kalvītis II TP – LZS – LPP – TB/LNNK – LZP – LC	9th (2006)
(10)		Ivars Godmanis (born 1951)	20 December 2007	12 March 2009	448		Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way	Godmanis II LPP/LC – TP – LZS – TB/LNNK – LZP
20		Valdis Dombrovskis (born 1971)	12 March 2009	3 November 2010	1777		New Era Party	Dombrovskis I JL – TP – TB/LNNK – LZS – LZP – PS
			3 November 2010	25 October 2011				Dombrovskis II JL – PS – SCP – LZS – LZP – LP JL, PS, SCP, LP later replaced by V	10th (2010)
			25 October 2011	22 January 2014			Unity	Dombrovskis III V – ZRP – NA	11th (2011)
21		Laimdota Straujuma (born 1951)	22 January 2014	5 November 2014	750			Straujuma I V – RP – NA – LZS – LZP
			5 November 2014	11 February 2016				Straujuma II V – NA – LZS – LZP – LuV – LP	12th (2014)
22		Māris Kučinskis (born 1961)	11 February 2016	23 January 2019	1077		Liepāja Party	Kučinskis V – NA – LZS – LZP – LuV – LP
23		Krišjānis Kariņš (born 1964)	23 January 2019	14 December 2022	1696		New Unity	Kariņš I JV – JKP – KPV LV – A/P! – NA KPV LV exited cabinet	13th (2018)
			14 December 2022	15 September 2023				Kariņš II JV – NA – AS	14th (2022)
24		Evika Siliņa (born 1975)	15 September 2023	Incumbent[2]	691			Siliņa JV – ZZS – PRO

Timeline

1919–1940

1990–present

Statistics

#	Prime Minister	Date of birth	Age at ascension (first term)	Time in office (total)	Age at retirement (last term)	Date of death	Longevity
1	Ulmanis, KārlisKārlis Ulmanis	18770904September 4, 1877(September 4, 1877)	41 07541 years, 75 days	09 3349 years, 334 days	62 28762 years, 287 days	19420920September 20, 1942	23,75665 years, 16 days
2	Meierovics, ZigfrīdsZigfrīds Meierovics	18870206February 6, 1887(February 6, 1887)	34 13334 years, 133 days	02 0702 years, 70 days	36 35436 years, 354 days	19250822August 22, 1925	14,07638 years, 197 days
3	Pauļuks, JānisJānis Pauļuks	18651112November 12, 1865(November 12, 1865)	57 07657 years, 76 days	00 152152 days	57 22857 years, 228 days	19370621June 21, 1937	26,15371 years, 221 days
4	Zāmuēls, VoldemārsVoldemārs Zāmuēls	18720522May 22, 1872(May 22, 1872)	51 25051 years, 250 days	00 327327 days	52 21052 years, 210 days	19480116September 25, 1944	27,63175 years, 239 days
5	Celmiņš, HugoHugo Celmiņš	18771030October 30, 1877(October 30, 1877)	47 05047 years, 50 days	03 1213 years, 121 days	53 14753 years, 147 days	19410730July 30, 1941	23,28363 years, 273 days
6	Alberings, ArtursArturs Alberings	18760108January 8, 1876(January 8, 1876)	50 11950 years, 119 days	00 226226 days	50 34550 years, 345 days	19340426April 26, 1934	21,29258 years, 108 days
7	Skujenieks, MarģersMarģers Skujenieks	18860622June 22, 1886(June 22, 1886)	40 18040 years, 180 days	02 1452 years, 145 days	46 27446 years, 274 days	19410712July 12, 1941	20,10855 years, 20 days
8	Juraševskis, PēterisPēteris Juraševskis	18720323March 23, 1872(March 23, 1872)	55 30755 years, 307 days	00 312312 days	56 25256 years, 252 days	19450110January 10, 1945	26,59072 years, 293 days
9	Blzodnieks, AzdolfsĀdolfs Bļodnieks	18890724July 24, 1889(July 24, 1889)	43 24343 years, 243 days	00 358358 days	44 23544 years, 235 days	19620321March 21, 1962	26,53772 years, 240 day
—	Augusts Kirhenšteins [3]	18720918September 18, 1872(September 18, 1872)	67 27667 years, 276 days	00 06666 days	67 34267 years, 342 days	19631103November 11, 1963	33,28291 years, 46 days
10	Godmanis, IvarsIvars Godmanis	19511127November 27, 1951(November 27, 1951)	38 16138 years, 161 days	04 1244 years, 124 days	57 10557 years, 105 days	Living	26,91673 years, 252 days (living)
11	Birkavs, ValdisValdis Birkavs	19420728July 28, 1942(July 28, 1942)	51 00651 years, 6 days	01 0431 year, 43 days	52 04952 years, 49 days	Living	30,32583 years, 9 days (living)
12	Gailis, MārisMāris Gailis	19510709July 9, 1951(July 9, 1951)	43 03743 years, 37 days	01 0971 year, 97 days	44 16544 years, 165 days	Living	27,05774 years, 28 days (living)
13	Szkzēle, AndrisAndris Šķēle	19580116January 16, 1958(January 16, 1958)	37 33937 years, 339 days	02 1592 years, 159 days	42 11042 years, 110 days	Living	24,67467 years, 202 days (living)
14	Krasts, GuntarsGuntars Krasts	19571016October 16, 1957(October 16, 1957)	39 29539 years, 295 days	01 1111 year, 111 days	41 04141 years, 51 days	Living	24,76667 years, 294 days (living)
15	Krisztopans, VilisVilis Krištopans	19540613June 13, 1954(June 13, 1954)	44 16644 years, 166 days	00 232232 days	45 03345 years, 33 days	Living	25,98771 years, 54 days (living)
16	Bērziņš, AndrisAndris Bērziņš	19510804August 4, 1951(August 4, 1951)	48 27548 years, 275 days	02 1862 years, 186 days	51 09551 years, 95 days	Living	27,03174 years, 2 days (living)
17	Repše, EinarsEinars Repše	19611209December 9, 1961(December 9, 1961)	40 33340 years, 333 days	01 1231 year, 123 days	42 09142 years, 91 days	Living	23,25163 years, 240 days (living)
18	Emsis, IndulisIndulis Emsis	19520102January 2, 1952(January 2, 1952)	52 06752 years, 67 days	00 268268 days	52 33552 years, 335 days	Living	26,88073 years, 216 days (living)
19	Kalvītis, AigarsAigars Kalvītis	19660627June 27, 1966(June 27, 1966)	38 15838 years, 158 days	03 0183 years, 18 days	41 17642 years, 91 days	Living	21,59059 years, 40 days (living)
20	Dombrovskis, ValdisValdis Dombrovskis	19710805August 5, 1971(August 5, 1971)	37 21937 years, 219 days	04 3164 years, 316 days	42 17042 years, 170 days	Living	19,72554 years, 1 day (living)
21	Straujuma, LaimdotaLaimdota Straujuma	19510224February 24, 1951(February 24, 1951)	62 33262 years, 332 days	02 0202 years, 20 days	64 35264 years, 352 days	Living	27,19274 years, 163 days (living)
22	Kučinskis, MārisMāris Kučinskis	19611128November 28, 1961(November 28, 1961)	54 07554 years, 75 days	02 3452 years, 345 days	57 05657 years, 56 days	Living	23,26263 years, 251 days (living)
23	Kariņš, Arturs KrišjānisKrišjānis Kariņš	19641213December 13, 1964(December 13, 1964)	54 04154 years, 41 days	4 years, 235 days	58 years, 276 days	Living	22,15160 years, 236 days (living)
24	Evika Siliņa[3]	19750803August 3, 1975(December 13, 1964)	48 04348 years, 43 days	00 304691 days		Living	22,15150 years, 3 days (living)

See also

• President of Latvia

Notes

¹ During the 1918–1920 Independence War, Latvia was contested by two other governments: the government of Soviet Latvia, led by Pēteris Stučka, and the government of Andrievs Niedra, backed by Baltic Germans. Some sources may list Stučka and Niedra as prime ministers for periods when their governments controlled most of Latvia.

² On 15 May 1934, prime minister Ulmanis dissolved parliament and banned all political parties (including his own Farmer's Union), establishing authoritarian rule.

³ Puppet leader appointed by Soviet authorities. Not recognized as such by the Latvian government.