Egils Helmanis (born 30 December 1971) is a Latvian politician, businessman and

close combat Close-quarters battle (CQB), also called close-quarters combat (CQC), is a close combat situation between multiple combatants involving ranged (typically firearm-based) or melee combat. It can occur between military units, law enforcement and cr ...

instructor. Since 2017, he is the Chairman of the Council of

Ogre Municipality Ogre Municipality () is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2002 by Merger (politics), merging Ogre, Latvia, Ogre town and Ogresgals Parish. In 2009 it absorbed Krape Parish, Ķeipene Parish, Laubere Parish, Madliena ...

. He has been embroiled in various controversies. Before entering politics, Helmanis was a businessman and military-style martial arts instructor.

Political activities

Helmanis joined the nationalist All for Latvia! party in 2008. He was elected to the Council of

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

from the common All for Latvia!/ Civic Union list, becoming Deputy Chairman in 2011. After spending some time in opposition, Helmanis became the Chairman on 16 June 2017 after the 2017 municipal elections, being re-elected in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Controversies

In 2009, Helmanis was charged with being part of an extortion racket and was convicted in April 2018, which was then appealed. Helmanis stated throughout that being charged with extortion would not interfere with his duties on the Ogre Municipality Council. In 2016, Helmanis admitted that he had trained members of the right-wing anti-immigrant vigilante group ''Tēvijas Sargi'' (Fatherland Guards). Before the 2017 municipal elections, Helmanis demanded before that local journalists sign a document agreeing not to pry into his private life. In early 2018 Helmanis was in conflict with Latvian Radio journalist Edgars Kupčs, who in an investigative report uncovered highly questionable practices in a tender for Ogre municipal vehicles that seemed to rule out everything but high-line luxury models with a lengthy range of optional extras. Helmanis demanded the story be retracted from both LR and

LSM LSM may refer to: Science *Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane (Modane Underground Laboratory), a particle physics laboratory in France *Lanthanum strontium manganite, a crystal used as a cathode material *Confocal microscopy, Laser scanning microsc ...

, which was refused. On 21 August 2019, the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau detained Helmanis over suspected misappropriation of municipal funds, but the criminal process was later terminated due to lack of evidence. In late 2023, Helmanis was criticized for inviting sanctioned Russian oligarch

Petr Aven Petr Olegovich Aven (also transliterated Pyotr Aven; ; Latvian: Pjotrs Avens; born 16 March 1955) is a Russian oligarch, economist and politician who also holds Latvian citizenship. Until March 2022 he headed Alfa-Bank, Russia's largest commer ...

to organize a porcelain exhibition at the Ogre History and Art Museum amid museum employee allegations of pressure and threats, culminating in a Helmanis-ordered sealing of the museum director's office and firing of the head staff of the museum. A protest was organized in front of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development on April 20, in which protesters demanded the sacking of Helmanis and the council, which is among the powers of the ministry. In December 2024, the Latvian

Ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

Juris Jansons announced that violations of political neutrality and misinformation were found in the

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

greetings of Egils Helmanis to the local residents in the municipal newsletter ''Savietis''. The greeting espoused anti-civil unions overtones, stating that: "At a time when we should be fighting for a mood of masculinity and militancy in the nation, we have a government fighting for the right of two men to marry. (..) Look for the Kangars ictional characterin the Latvian people".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helmanis, Egils 1971 births Living people 21st-century Latvian politicians People from Talsi