Romualds Ražuks (Lithuanian: ''Romualdas Ražukas;'' born 19 November 1955) is a Lithuania-born Latvian doctor and politician. He was the second chairman of the

Popular Front of Latvia The Popular Front of Latvia () was a political organisation in Latvia in the late 1980s and early 1990s which led Latvia to its independence from the Soviet Union. It was similar to the Popular Front of Estonia and the Sąjūdis movement in Li ...

, thereafter a member of parliament 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 ...

of the Republic of Latvia and mayor of

Jūrmala Jūrmala (; "seaside") is a state city in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, about west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and is sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River. It has a stretch of white-sand beach and is the ...

. Between 2014 and 2018, he was a member of parliament of the 12th Saeima, representing the political party

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 ...

Early life

Ražuks was born in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, Lithuania. He studied at the Medical Faculty of the

University of Vilnius Vilnius University (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a Public university, public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher e ...

. In 1985 he defended his PhD thesis in medicine in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In 1986 he moved to Latvia, where he began working at the Riga Medical Institute. In 1987 he participated in the establishment of the Lithuanian Culture Society in Latvia, and became involved with the

(PFL) a year thereafter.

Political career

In October 1989, Ražuks was elected to the council of the PFL, which later elected him on to its board. At the PFL third congress, Romualds Ražuks was elected PFL chairperson, replacing Dainis Īvāns in 1990. He retained this position until 1993, when he became vice chairman of the PFL. In 1995, Ražuks was awarded

Latvian citizenship The Latvian nationality law () is based on the Citizenship Law of 1994. It is primarily based on the principles of jus sanguinis. History The first nationality law of Latvia was adopted in August, 1919. In September, 1940, the Supreme Soviet of ...

for special merit by decision of the Saeima. In 1997, Ražuks joined the

Latvian Way Latvian Way () was a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberal List of political parties in Latvia, political party in Latvia. It merged with Latvia's First Party to form the Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way (LPP/LC) in 2007. It described it ...

party, and on 3 March 1997 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 ...

, where he became the faction leader and worked for a year and a half. In 1998, he was elected to the parliament (7th Saeima) from the same party. In 2001 he was elected vice chairman of the Saeima, replacing Gundars Bojārs. After completing his term in the Saeima, Ražuks worked in the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia and as a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

representative in the Southern Caucasus region. He ran for the 8th Saeima in 2002, unsuccessfully, and for the European Parliament in 2004. In April 2008, Ražuks participated in the founding congress of the Civic Union. In the 2009 municipal elections, he was elected to the Jūrmala City Council from the same party, initially being part of the opposition. On 20 May 2010, Ražuks was elected chairman of the city council, replacing Raimonds Munkevics. However, already on 9 September 2010, he was replaced by Gatis Truksnis. In July 2011, he announced his exit from the Civic Union and his intention to join the Reform Party. Ražuks was elected from its list to the 11th Saeima during a snap election. In May 2014, Ražuks became a member of

, and was elected into the 12th Saeima that same year. Razuks is a recipient of the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

4th class, the

Commemorative Medal for Participants of the Barricades of 1991 The Commemorative Medal for Participants of the Barricades of 1991 () is a Latvian state award given to people who participated in or supported the actions of those who took part in the defense of Latvia against forces loyal to the Soviet Union du ...

, as well as the

Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this O ...

, 5th class.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Razuks, Romualds 1955 births Living people Politicians from Vilnius Lithuanian emigrants to Latvia Popular Front of Latvia politicians Latvian Way politicians Civic Union (Latvia) politicians Reform Party (Latvia) politicians New Unity politicians Deputies of the 7th Saeima Deputies of the 11th Saeima Deputies of the 12th Saeima Latvian physicians Vilnius University alumni 20th-century Latvian physicians 21st-century Latvian physicians