Latvia’s first woman Prime Minister to be appointed shortly

Thursday, 9 January 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Latvia is poised to get its first female prime minister after the country’s President Andris Brziš and the leading parliamentary parties finally

agreed on a single candidate. President Andris Brziš invited Laimdota Straujuma to create the new government and she will be the first woman Prime Minister serving in this position in Latvia. On 5 January, 2014 the Unity Party nominated Laimdota Straujuma as a candidate to the post of Prime Minister following the resignation of Valdis Dombrovskis. Laimdota Straujuma is a long time civil servant and is currently the Baltic State’s Agricultural Minister and was not a member of any party until joining the Unity Party over the weekend. Born on 24 February 1951 is a Latvian politician, economist, former senior civil servant and the current Minister for Agriculture of Latvia. Between October 2000 and 2006 Straujuma served as the Secretary of State of the Ministry for Agriculture of Latvia. Between 2007 and 2010 she was the Secretary of State of the Ministry for Regional Development and Local Government of Latvia and was appointed Minister for Agriculture of Latvia on 25 October 2011. Previously President Andris Brziš, had refused to back any candidates but on Monday said he would support Straujuma for the post. The current head of government Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis resigned in November in the wake of a supermarket roof collapse that killed 54 people and stunned the small country. Straujuma will have to assemble a coalition that will receive majority support in the 100-member Parliament before she can officially assume office.