Edgars Rinkēvičs elected Latvia's new president, Zelenskyy praises him as Ukraine's true friend

Delfi reports that Edgars Rinkēvičs was elected president by members of the Saeima on May 31. He received 52 votes. In addition to representatives of the New Unity party, which nominated Rinkēvičs, representatives of the opposition Union of Greens and Peasants and Progressives voted for the new president.

Edgars Rinkēvičs was elected president for four years. He replaced Egils Levits in this position.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated his Latvian counterpart on his election.

“Sincere congratulations to a true friend of Ukraine, Edgars Rinkēvičs, on his election as President of the Republic of Latvia. I look forward to continuing close cooperation and partnership for the benefit of our peoples, for the common victory of the values of freedom and democracy, peace for Ukraine and Europe,” he tweeted. 

Edgars Rinkēvičs was born in Jurmala in 1973. In 1995, he graduated with a bachelor's degree from the Faculty of History and Philosophy of the University of Latvia. In the same year, he received a certificate in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Groningen (Netherlands). In 1997, he received a master's degree in Political Science from the University of Latvia. In 2000, he received a master's degree from the US National Defense University.

He began his career as a journalist at Latvian Radio, specializing in foreign policy and international relations.

Since 1995, he has worked at the Latvian Ministry of Defense. From 2008 to 2011, he served as Chief of Staff to President of Latvia Valdis Zatlers.

In 2011, he was elected to the Saeima and soon became Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Valdis Dombrovskis. Since then, he has served as a permanent foreign minister in various governments.

In November 2014, Edgars Rinkēvičs came out and became the first politician in the history of Latvia to openly admit his gay orientation.

• On April 2, Rinkēvičs said that providing Ukraine with long-range missiles is not an escalation, and that the country can shell military bases in Russia because it is 'legitimate defense.'

• Edgars Rinkēvičs also called the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus an “act of desperation” by Russian President Vladimir Putin and a symbol that Belarus is not sovereign.