Dana Reizniece (born November 6, 1981) is a Latvian politician and chess player. She has been managing director of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) since 2021. She also served as minister of Economics (2014–2016) and

minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

(2016–2019) of the Republic of Latvia. Reizniece-Ozola was elected as a member of the 10th, 11th, 12th and 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 ...

of the Republic of Latvia and worked as the chairperson of the Commission on Education, Culture and Science, Member of the Legal Affairs Commission and Member of the European Affairs Commission. In chess, Reizniece-Ozola was awarded the title of Woman Grandmaster by

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

in 2001. She is presently vice-president of the European Chess Union.

Biography

From 2006 to 2014, Reizniece-Ozola was Advisor to the Board, Board Member and Head of

Ventspils Ventspils () is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and ...

High Technology Park. Before that, she was the Board Member of a research centre and industrial investment company. She has also worked at Ventspils City Council as the Head of the Investment Division. Dana Reizniece-Ozola has studied International Business at Häme Polytechnic University of Applied Sciences ( HAMK),

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

; law at the College of Law and linguistics at

Ventspils University College Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (former Ventspils University College, ) is a higher education establishment in Ventspils, Latvia. History Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (VUAS) was founded in 1997 as a self-governing state uni ...

in Latvia. She obtained a Professional master's degree in Translation and Terminology from Ventspils University College in Latvia and an Executive master's degree of Business Administration from the

International Space University The International Space University (ISU) is a higher education institute headquartered in Illkirch-Graffenstaden, a suburb of Strasbourg, France. It is dedicated to the discovery, research, and development of outer space and its applications f ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. She has managed several projects related to satellite and space technologies, with the development the first Latvian satellite " Venta-1" at Ventspils High Technology Park being one of them.

Chess career

Reizniece-Ozola won the

Latvian Chess Championship The Latvian Chess Championship () is the annual national chess tournament of Latvia among men and women players, which was established in 1924. It is organized by the Latvian Chess Federation (), previously - Latvian Chess Union (). Histor ...

for women in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. In 1998 and 1999, she won the Girls Under 18 section of the European Youth Championships. In 2000, Reizniece-Ozola competed in the

Women's World Chess Championship The Women's World Chess Championship is a chess match played to determine the Women's World Chess Champion. It has been administered by FIDE since its inception in 1927, unlike the absolute World Chess Championship, which only came under FIDE's ...

, held in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, India; she was eliminated in the first round after losing to Nataša Bojković. In the 4th round of the

42nd Chess Olympiad The 42nd Chess Olympiad (; also known as the Baku Chess Olympiad), organised by the FIDE, Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an openAlthough sometimes referred to as the "men's division", this section is open to all pl ...

in 2016, Reizniece-Ozola defeated Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan. Reizniece-Ozola played for Latvia in the Women's Chess Olympiad: * In 1998, at first board in the 33rd Chess Olympiad in Elista (+6 −2 =5); * In 2000, at first board in the 34th Chess Olympiad in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

(+6 −2 =5); * In 2004, at first board in the 36th Chess Olympiad in Calvia (+6 −5 =0); * In 2006, at first board in the

37th Chess Olympiad The 37th Chess Olympiad (), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

(+5 −2 =4); * In 2010, at first board in the 39th Chess Olympiad in

Khanty-Mansiysk Khanty-Mansiysk (, lit. ''Khanty-Mansi Town''; Khanty: , ''Jomvoćś''; Mansi: , ''Abga'') is a city in west-central Russia. Technically, it is situated on the eastern bank of the Irtysh River, from its confluence with the Ob, in the oil-ri ...

(+1 −6 =2); * In 2012, at first board in the

40th Chess Olympiad The 40th Chess Olympiad (), organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, was an international team chess event that took p ...

(+6 -3 =1); * In 2014, at first board in the 41st Chess Olympiad in

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

(+1 -5 =4); * In 2016, at first board in the

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

(+5 -3 =2). Dana Reizniece-Ozola played for Latvia in the Women's

European Team Chess Championship The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...

: * In 1999, at first board in 3rd Women's European Team Chess Championship in

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

(+5 −4 =0); * In 2001, at first board in 4th Women's European Team Chess Championship in León (+1 −4 =2); * In 2011, at first board in 18th Women's European Team Chess Championship in Porto Carras (+4 −3 =2); * In 2015, at first board in 20th Women's European Team Chess Championship in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

(+2 −3 =4), * In 2019, at first board in the 22nd Women's European Team Chess Championship in

(+3, =2, -4).

Political career

Dana Reizniece-Ozola served as Minister of Finance from 2016 until 2019. She was a member of the

Union of Greens and Farmers The Union of Greens and Farmers (, ZZS) is an agrarian political alliance in Latvia. It is made up of the Latvian Farmers' Union, Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party, and For Latvia and Ventspils. It is positioned in the centre on the ...

(ZZS) and a deputy of the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th

(Latvian Parliament) and has worked as the Chairperson of the Commission on Education, Culture and Science, as a Member of the Legal Affairs Commission and as a Member of the European Affairs Commission. Within the ZZS alliance she was a member of the Latvian Farmers' Union (before 2018 –

For Latvia and Ventspils For Latvia and Ventspils (, LuV) is a regionalist political party in Latvia that mainly operates as a localist party in Ventspils. It is mostly known for its chairman, Aivars Lembergs, who has been mayor of Ventspils between 1988 until his arre ...

). She left 13th Saeima in 2021 to join FIDE in the role of managing director, since May 2022 she is not a member of any political party. In November 2017, Reizniece-Ozola submitted her formal application for succeeding

Jeroen Dijsselbloem Jeroen René Victor Anton Dijsselbloem (; born 29 March 1966) is a Dutch politician and economist serving as Mayor of Eindhoven since 13 September 2022, succeeding John Jorritsma ( VVD). A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), he has also been Cha ...

as the next chairman of the

Eurogroup The Eurogroup is the recognised collective term for the informal meetings of the finance ministers of the eurozone—those member states of the European Union (EU) which have adopted the euro as their official currency. The group has 20 members ...

. At the vote on December 4, she withdrew after the first round and Mário Centeno was eventually elected to the post.

Other activities

European Union organizations

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...

(EIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2016–2019) *

European Stability Mechanism The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is an intergovernmental organization located in Luxembourg City, which operates under public international law for all eurozone member states having ratified a special ESM intergovernmental treaty. It was ...

(ESM), Member of the Board of Governors (2016–2019)

International organizations

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

(EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2016–2019) *

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is an international financial institution which offers political risk insurance and credit enhancement guarantees. These guarantees help investors protect foreign direct investments against ...

(MIGA),

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group ...

, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2016–2019) * Nordic Investment Bank (NIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2016–2019), Chairwoman of the Board of Governors (2018–2019) *

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2016–2019)Board of Governors

Personal life

Reizniece-Ozola is married to Andris Ozols, former director of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reizniece-Ozola, Dana 1981 births Living people People from Kuldīga For Latvia and Ventspils politicians Latvian Farmers' Union politicians Ministers of economics of Latvia Ministers of finance of Latvia Deputies of the 10th Saeima Deputies of the 11th Saeima Deputies of the 12th Saeima Deputies of the 13th Saeima Chess Woman Grandmasters Latvian female chess players Latvian chess players Women deputies of the Saeima Women government ministers of Latvia Female finance ministers 21st-century Latvian women politicians