The career politician has made significant progress for queer visibility.
Latvia has elected a new president – making history the first openly gay head of state in Europe.
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The country’s parliament elected Edgars Rinkēvičs to be its next president, Reuters reported prime minister Krišjānis Kariņš saying.
Rinkēvičs has spent a long time in Latvian politics, serving as the country’s minister of foreign affairs since 2011, and worked in the civil service before that.
In a statement on social media, he said he was honoured and humbled to have been elected.
He added: “I will do my best to serve the people of Latvia well. I thank members of parliament for their trust.”
Rinkēvičs publicly came out as gay in November 2014, posting on Twitter: “I proudly announce I am gay… Good luck all of you.”
In a second tweet at the time, he spoke about improving the legal status of same-sex relationships, saying Latvia needed to create a legal framework for all kinds of partnerships.
He signed off with the hashtag #Proudtobegay.
Since then, same-sex marriage has still not been recognised in the northern European nation, but civil unions have been possible since last year.
In ILGA-Europe’s 2023 Rainbow Map and Index, Latvia is ranked 37th out of 49 European Union countries.
Rinkēvičs rebutted rumours of any “hidden agenda” in coming out.
“I do not believe that something fundamental should change in people’s attitude toward me or other people,” he said in a radio interview. “It is time for us to be more open and honest. Believe me, such decisions are not easy to make and can take a long time.
“I contemplated all the positive and negative consequences that may arise due to my decision, and decided that it is better to be honest and to speak frankly, as well as to urge a discussion about these matters, including registration of partnerships, which is a complicated topic.”
Latvia's parliament has elected Edgars Rinkēvičs to be its next president.
Rinkēvičs has spent a long time in Latvian politics, serving as the country’s minister of foreign affairs since 2011, and worked in the civil service before that.
In a statement on social media, he said he was honoured and humbled to have been elected.
Rinkēvičs publicly came out as gay in November 2014.
What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Latvia?
What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Latvia? Let’s take a look at some of the key equality indicators.
Is homosexuality legal in Latvia?
Yes. Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalised in 1992.
The age-of-consent is 16, regardless of sexuality.
Are there anti-discrimination protections in place for LGBTQ people in Latvia?
No. There are no protections from discrimination on the grounds of sexuality.
Is there Marriage Equality in Latvia?
Civil unions are possible to enable legal recognition of same-sex relationships, but Latvia’s constitution explicitly limits marriage to opposite-sex couples.
What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Latvia?
Latvia is a socially conservative country. Homosexuality is generally seen as a taboo subject.
Homophobia is systemic.
There is a small LGBTQ community in Riga, the capital of Latvia
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