Ināra Mūrniece

Ināra Mūrniece
Official portrait, 2016
Minister for Defence of Latvia
In office
14 December 2022 – 15 September 2023
Prime MinisterArturs Krišjānis Kariņš
Preceded byArtis Pabriks
Succeeded byAndris Sprūds
Speaker of the Saeima
In office
4 November 2014 – 1 November 2022
Preceded bySolvita Āboltiņa
Succeeded byEdvards Smiltēns
Member of the Saeima
Assumed office
17 October 2011
Personal details
Born (1970-12-30) 30 December 1970 (age 53)
Political partyNational Alliance
Spouse
(m. 1995; div. 2015)
Children1
Alma materUniversity of Latvia

Ināra Mūrniece (born 30 December 1970) is a Latvian journalist, politician and a member of Saeima. She was Speaker of the Saeima from 2014 to 2022. In 2022, she was succeeded in that role by Edvards Smiltēns.

Early life and professional career

In 2007, she graduated from the School of Economics and Culture [lv] and in 2009, graduated from the University of Latvia. She worked as a journalist for the newspaper Latvijas Avīze, stopped working there in August 2011.[1]

Elected office and public life

In 2011, Mūrniece ran in the 11th Saeima elections from the list of the National Aliance and was elected to the Saeima. She worked in the Saeima as the Chairperson of the Human Rights and Public Affairs Commission.[2] In 2014, she was elected to the 12th Saeima and became the Speaker of the Saeima,[3][4] and retained the position as Speaker throughout the 12th term of the Saeima.

She was elected to the 13th Saeima in the autumn of 2018. For the second term in a row, Mūrniece was elected Speaker of the Saeima, against Dagmāra Beitnere-Le Galla [lv].[5][6][7] Also, in next election in October 2022, she was reelected to 14th Saeima.

Defence minister

On 14 December 2022, Mūrniece became Minister of Defence of Latvia.[8] She held that position until 15 September 2023, when Andris Sprūds succeeded her.[9]

Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee

On 20 June 2024, Mūrniece was appointed as the new chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima, after the former chair Rihards Kols became a member of the European Parliament.[10]

In November 2024, Mūrniece was one of eight MPs from EU countries to visit Tbilisi and meet with president Salome Zourabichvili following allegations of fraud in the Georgian parliamentary election.[11]

Personal life

She was married to historian and politician Ritvars Jansons [lv], who was a member of the 12th Saeima. They have a daughter. They divorced in 2015.[12]

References

  1. ^ Pūrs, Aldis; Plakans, Andrejs (2017). Historical Dictionary of Latvia. Historical Dictionaries of Europe. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 228. ISBN 978-1-5381-0221-3.
  2. ^ "Saeimas cilvēktiesību komisiju vadīs Ināra Mūrniece, viņas vietnieks - Cilevičs". October 21, 2011. Archived from the original on October 24, 2011.
  3. ^ "Inara Murniece elected new Saeima speaker in Latvia". The Baltic Course. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  4. ^ "12th Saeima's Praesidium is elected; Murniece elected as speaker". Baltic News Network. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Mūrniece re-elected as Saeima speaker". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Ināra Mūrniece to remain the speaker of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia". Baltic News Network. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  7. ^ "Inara Murniece re-elected Latvia's Saeima speaker". The Baltic Course. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  8. ^ "New Latvian government can start work after being approved by Saeima". LSM.lv. 14 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Solemn Change of Defence Ministers Ceremony to be Held at the Oskars Kalpaks Monument". Ministry of Defence (Latvia). 15 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima to be chaired by Ināra Mūrniece". Saeima. 20 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Georgian President meets EU delegation as political crisis deepens". JAMnews. 11 November 2024.
  12. ^ Sergejeva, Santa (October 7, 2015). "VAKARA ZIŅAS: Ināra Mūrniece pēc 22 gadu kopdzīves šķīrusies no vīra". Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze.
Political offices
Preceded by Speaker of the Saeima
2014–2022
Succeeded by