Andris Sprūds (born 13 July 1971) is a Latvian foreign policy researcher, lecturer, and politician. He is a professor at Rīga Stradiņš University, a member of the

14th Saeima The Fourteenth Saeima of Latvia () was elected in the 2022 Latvian parliamentary election held on 1 October 2022. Election The 100 members of the Saeima are elected by open list proportional representation from five multi-member constituen ...

, and the Minister of Defence of Latvia. He represents 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.

Personal life

In 1997, he obtained a master's degree in Central European history from

Central European University Central European University (CEU; , ) is a private research university in Vienna. The university offers graduate and undergraduate programs in the social sciences and humanities, which are accredited in Austria and the United States. The univ ...

in Budapest, and in 1998, a master's degree in political science in international relations from

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 ...

, and in 2005, he defended his doctoral degree in political science at

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

in Krakow, Poland. He has also studied and researched at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, and the Japan Institute of Energy Economics on various topics related to energy security and policy in the Baltic Sea region,

post-Soviet The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

domestic and foreign policy, as well as transatlantic relations. He has been a member of the advisory board of the Latvian Institute of International Affairs and its longstanding director.

Political career

On 1 October 2022, Sprūds was elected to the 14th Saeima from the list of the

party, not being its member. He works in the Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Committees of the Saeima. On 24 November 2022, he was elected chairman of the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima. In 2023, he joined the Progressives party. On 15 September 2023, he was appointed

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 ...

in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

Evika Siliņa Evika Siliņa (; born 3 August 1975) is a Latvian lawyer and politician who has been serving as the prime minister of Latvia since 15 September 2023. From 2022 to 2023, she served as in the Second Kariņš cabinet, second cabinet of prime minist ...

References

External links

Andris Sprūds
on Cabinet of Ministers Republic of Latvia
Andris Sprūds
on Ministry of Defence Republic of Latvia
Andris Sprūds
on Rigas Stradins University {{DEFAULTSORT:Spruds, Andris 1971 births Living people Latvian historians Deputies of the 14th Saeima The Progressives (Latvia) politicians