Laimdota Straujuma

Prime Minister of Latvia

24 February 1951 Mežvidi, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union

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22 January 2014 – 11 February 2016

Laimdota Straujuma (born 24 February 1951) is a Latvian economist who was the Prime Minister of Latvia from January 2014 to February 2016. Before her tenure as Prime Minister, she served as Minister of Agriculture from 2011 to 2014. She was the first woman to serve as the head of government of the country. After her resignation on 7 December 2015, she announced her intention to resume a seat in the Saeima. Between October 2000 and 2006, Straujuma served as the Secretary of State of the Ministry for Agriculture. Between 2007 and 2010, she was the Secretary of State of the Ministry for Regional Development and Local Government. She was appointed as Minister of Agriculture on 25 October 2011. On 5 January 2014, the Unity Party nominated Straujuma as a candidate for the post of Prime Minister following the resignation of Valdis Dombrovskis. The nomination was supported by Unity's coalition partners, the Reform Party and the National Alliance, as well as the opposition Union of Greens and Farmers. Following the 2014 parliamentary election, in which the Unity Party came in second, the President of Latvia Andris Bērziņš nominated Straujuma to lead the new government, which was approved by Saeima on 5 November 2014. Straujuma resigned on 7 December 2015.