Raimonds Vējonis (born 15 June 1966) is a Latvian politician who served as the 9th

President of Latvia The president of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Valsts prezidents ) is head of state and commander-in-chief of the National Armed Forces of the Republic of Latvia. The term of office is four years. Before 1999, it was three years. The president may be e ...

from 2015 to 2019 and the president of the

Latvian Basketball Association The Latvian Basketball Association (Latvian language, Latvian: ''Latvijas Basketbola Savienība''), also known as LBS, is the national governing body of basketball in Latvia. It was founded in 1923 and was one of the FIBA Europe co-founders, but d ...

since 2020. He is a member of the

Latvian Green Party The Latvian Green Party ( lv, Latvijas Zaļā partija, LZP) is a green political party in Latvia. It was founded in 1990. It was a member of the European Green Party from 2003 until its expulsion in 2019. It is positioned in the centre and lea ...

, part of the

Union of Greens and Farmers The Union of Greens and Farmers ( lv, Zaļo un Zemnieku savienība, 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 p ...

. He served as Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development in 2002 and in 2011 and as Minister of the Environment from 2003 to 2011, while the Ministry of Regional Development was a separate department. He became Minister of Defence of Latvia in 2014 and held that office until becoming president in 2015. Since 2020 he is the president of

Early life and career

Vējonis was born on 15 June 1966 in

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast (russian: Пско́вская о́бласть, ') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the city of Pskov. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 67 ...

to a Latvian father and a Russian mother, while his father was serving in the

Soviet army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

there. He grew up in Sarkaņi and attended school in the nearby town of

Madona Madona (; german: Modohn) is a town with town rights in the Vidzeme region of Latvia and is the center of the Madona municipality. History The surrounding area of Madona had been populated in earlier times, which is confirmed by discoveries ...

. Vējonis became interested in environmental protection because his grandfather had been blinded by chemicals used on a Soviet collective farm. He graduated from Faculty of Biology of the

University of Latvia University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...

in 1989 and obtained a master's degree from it in 1995. During his studies he worked as a biology teacher in Madona. From 1989 to 1996 he was deputy director of Madona Regional Environmental board. He was a member of Madona city council from 1990 to 1993. From 1996 to 2002 he was director of Greater Riga Regional Environmental board, during this period he also was a board member in Skulte port and served as state representative at Getliņi Eko waste management company.

Political career

In 2002 Vējonis became Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. He was elected as

on 3 June 2015, receiving the votes of 55 of the 100 members of the

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the 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 popular ...

. He used his victory speech to promise to ensure national security, in light of

events in Ukraine Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of ev ...

, while protecting the environment. He became the first head of state in the European Union to be a member of a

green party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundati ...

. After seven parties were elected to Saeima following the

2018 Latvian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Latvia on 6 October 2018. Following the elections, a coalition government was formed by Who owns the state?, the New Conservative Party, Development/For!, the National Alliance and New Unity. Despite bei ...

and representatives were unsuccessful in agreeing upon a new coalition, Vējonis was called on to nominate a candidate for

Prime Minister of Latvia The prime minister of Latvia ( lv, ministru prezidents) is the most powerful member of the Government of Latvia, who presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers. The officeholder is nominated by the president of Latvia, but must be able to obt ...

himself. After his first choice of Jānis Bordans from New Conservative Party was rejected by possible coalition partners, Vējonis then nominated

Aldis Gobzems Aldis Gobzems (born October 10, 1978) is a Latvian politician and lawyer. He first rose to prominence as a lawyer who represented victims of the 2013 Zolitūde shopping centre roof collapse, and was the prime ministerial candidate for the Who O ...

Who owns the state? For a Humane Latvia ( lv, Par cilvēcīgu Latviju, PCL), previously known as Who Owns the State? (''Kam pieder valsts?, KPV''), is a right-wing populist political party in Latvia. Since 2022, its a member of the Union for Latvia () alliance togeth ...

on November 26, 2018, and gave him a two-week deadline to form a government.

Post-presidency

In January 2020, Vējonis was elected to a four-year term as president of the

by a wide margin.

Personal life

In 1986, he married

Iveta Vējone Iveta Vējone (born 4 July 1966) is a Latvian teacher who served as the First Lady of Latvia from 2015 to 2019. She is the wife of former President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis. Honours * : First Class of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana ...

, a teacher and former first lady. The couple have two sons, Ivo and Nauris. Vējonis is a Baltic pagan. He speaks fluent Russian and decent English in addition to Latvian.

Health problems

On 18 January 2016 Vējonis was hospitalized. He was first transported to the Toxicology and

Sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is foll ...

Clinic of the Riga East Clinical University Hospital branch Gaiļezers, but a day later was transferred to the Latvian Cardiology Center at Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital. The press counselor of the president initially did not disclose the nature of the illness and suggested that the president had a viral infection. However independent medical experts theorized that Vējonis probably had an

infective endocarditis Infective endocarditis is an infection of the inner surface of the heart, usually the valves. Signs and symptoms may include fever, small areas of bleeding into the skin, heart murmur, feeling tired, and low red blood cell count. Complication ...

. On January 20 Vējonis underwent emergency

open heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to ...

to eliminate the source of infection in which the heart valve damaged by

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is foll ...

was replaced with an

artificial heart valve An artificial heart valve is a one-way valve implanted into a person's heart to replace a heart valve that is not functioning properly ( valvular heart disease). Artificial heart valves can be separated into three broad classes: mechanical ...

. Later on unnamed sources told the press that the illness was likely caused by untreated

tonsillitis Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils in the upper part of the throat. It can be acute or chronic. Acute tonsillitis typically has a rapid onset. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, enlargement of the tonsils, trouble swallowing, a ...

, the press counselor of the president, while still refusing to disclose exact diagnosis, confirmed that the president had been having issues with his throat and his voice had been very hoarse. Vējonis left hospital on February 26 to undergo

physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patie ...

at National Rehabilitation Center "Vaivari". He was reported to be doing some work during his illness, but fully resumed his official duties on 30 March after spending more than two months recovering.

Honours

;National Honours * : (Former Grand Master) and Commander Grand Cross with Chain of the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvija ...

(8 July 2015). * : (Former Grand Master) and Grand Cross of the

Order of Viesturs The Order of Viesturs ( lv, Viestura ordenis) is a Latvian state order founded in 1938, which was temporarily discontinued in 1940 by the Soviet occupation of Latvia, but was re-established in 2004. The order is named after the medieval historic ...

* : Former Grand Master of the Cross of Recognition ;Foreign Honours * : Collar of the

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana ( et, Maarjamaa Risti teenetemärk, sometimes translated as the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of t ...

(2 April 2019) * : Grand Cross special class of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(22 February 2019) * : Grand cross with Collar of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. ...

(16 November 2018) * : Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-rankin ...

(26 June 2018) * : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...

(11 June 2018). * : The First Class of the

Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise ( uk, Орден князя Ярослава Мудрого) is an award of Ukraine. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, ...

(22 November 2018).

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Vejonis, Raimonds 1966 births Living people People from Pskov Oblast Latvian modern pagans Latvian people of Russian descent Latvian Green Party politicians Presidents of Latvia Ministers of Defence of Latvia Ministers of the Environment of Latvia Deputies of the 9th Saeima Deputies of the 10th Saeima Deputies of the 11th Saeima Deputies of the 12th Saeima University of Latvia alumni Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Recipients of the Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of the Falcon Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion