Imants Viesturs Lieģis (born 30 April 1955) is a
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
n diplomat and politician. Since 2016, he has served as Latvia's ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to
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 ...
, as well as non-resident ambassador to
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
,
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
and
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
.
He served as Latvia's defence minister from 2009 to 2010. Lieģis was appointed to the defence ministry post in March 2009, as part of the new six-party coalition government headed by
Valdis Dombrovskis
Valdis Dombrovskis (; born 5 August 1971) is a Latvian politician serving as Executive Vice President of the European Commission for An Economy that Works for People since 2019 and European Commissioner for Trade since 2020. He previously serv ...
. In 2010, he joined the
Civic Union party and was elected to the Parliament, he was Chairman of the European Affairs Committee and Chairman of Delegation to the NATO PA until October 2011.
He is a board member of the European Leadership Network.
A career diplomat, Lieģis served previously as Latvia's ambassador to
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 ...
, a post to which he was appointed in 1997 while also serving as ambassador to the
Benelux
The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...
countries. Ambassador to the Kingdom of
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
from September 2008 to March 2009. Ambassador to
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
from 2012 to 2016.
He was born in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Trained in law, Lieģis worked as a solicitor in the
Supreme Court of England and Wales
The Courts of England and Wales, supported administratively by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales.
Except in constitutional matters, ...
from 1979 to 1991.
He is a Senior Network Member at the
European Leadership Network
European Leadership Network (ELN) is a pan-European think-tank focusing on European foreign, defence and security issues based in London, United Kingdom.
History and organisation
The ELN was founded as part of a project by the Nuclear Security ...
(ELN).
References
1955 births
Living people
People from the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull
Civic Union (Latvia) politicians
New Unity politicians
Ministers of defence of Latvia
Deputies of the 10th Saeima
Ambassadors of Latvia to France
Ambassadors of Latvia to Algeria
Ambassadors of Latvia to Morocco
Ambassadors of Latvia to Monaco
Ambassadors of Latvia to Hungary
Ambassadors of Latvia to Belgium
Ambassadors of Latvia to Luxembourg
Ambassadors of Latvia to the Netherlands
Ambassadors of Latvia to Spain
Permanent representatives of Latvia to NATO
Alumni of Newcastle University
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class
{{Latvia-politician-stub