Riekstins, Maris

He graduated from the Latvian State Institute of Physical Culture ( 1985 ) in the specialty "sports teacher"; Since 1983 , Secretary of the Komsomol Committee of the Institute. Upon completion of higher education, he worked at the Department of Sports Games, in 1987 he transferred to work in the Committee of Youth Organizations of the Latvian SSR. After the declaration of independence of Latvia since January 1992 , an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: headed the department of Eastern Europe , was deputy state secretary of the Foreign Ministry. In 1993 , received a diploma of a second higher education at the Law Faculty of the University of Latvia . In August 1993 , he was appointed State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and held this position for 11 years; Since 1995 , at the same time, he chaired the Committee for the Control of Export and Import of Strategic Goods. He led the Latvian delegation in negotiations on the demarcation of maritime borders with Lithuania and Estonia. In 2002 - 2004 Head of the Latvian delegation at the negotiations on joining NATO . In 2004 - 2007 Latvian ambassador to the USA , and in 2006 - 2007 part-time also in Mexico. In January 2007 , he returned to Latvia and took the post of head of the Prime Minister’s Office, Aigar Kalvitis . In April, the People’s Party was nominated as a candidate for the post of President of Latvia , but a month later his candidacy was withdrawn due to the achievement of a number of parliamentary parties by consensus on the candidacy of Valdis Zatlers . In November 2007 , he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia (he held the post until April 2010). Since 2011, the representative of Latvia to NATO ^[1] .

In August 2017, he was appointed Ambassador of Latvia to Russia ^[2] .

He was awarded the state awards of Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal and Estonia. Married, two children.

• Page on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia