Julija Stepanenko

Julija Stepanenko (Russian: Юлия Степаненко, romanized: Julija Stepanenko, Latvian: Jūlija Stepaņenko; born 1 September 1977) is a Latvian politician and lawyer, serving as a deputy of the Saeima, the parliament of Latvia. Formerly a member of Honor to serve Riga and Law and Order,[3] she is now a member of Latvia First,[2] having left Law and Order in June 2021.[4]

Julija Stepaņenko
Deputy of the Saeima
Personal details
Born (1977-09-01) 1 September 1977
Riga, Latvian SSR
Political partyHonor to serve Riga (?-2020)[1]
Law and Order (2021-2021)
Latvia First (2021-present)[2]
Alma materUniversity of Latvia
ProfessionLawyer, politician

Political activity

Stepanenko firstly was elected to Saeima In 2014. She served on the Saeima European Affairs Committee.[5]

Stepanenko received more than 12 000 pluses and more than 90 000 votes at the 2018 parliamentary elections and became one of the most supported representatives of the 13th Saeima.[6] On the first day of the sitting of the 13th Saeima Stepanenko announced she would be leaving the Harmony parliamentary fraction and working as an independent deputy, however she stated that she would continue to work with the party in matters that do not conflict with her own values.[7]

In January 2021 she co-founded the right-wing populist Law and Order party and was chosen to co-lead the party alongside fellow MP Aldis Gobzems until she left the party on 30 June 2021, criticising Gobzems' style of communication.[4] In August 2021 she was among the co-founders of the Latvia First party, being chosen as the party's board chair as well as their candidate for President of Latvia.[2]

From 15 November 2021 Julija Stepanenko was removed from the work of the parliament by spesial law, which prohibited unvaccinated elected representatives to take part in discussion even online. She said that this decision of parliamentary majority is deeply undemocratic and shows that under the banner of fighting against the coronavirus things have gone thoroughly astray.[8]

References
  1. "No partijas "Gods kalpot Rīgai" izstājušies seši valdes locekļi". LETA (in Latvian). 21 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  2. Māris, Klūga (14 August 2021). "Šlesera partijas «Latvija pirmajā vietā» Valsts prezidenta amata kandidāte būs Jūlija Stepaņenko". LETA (in Latvian). Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  3. Līcītis, Egils (12 January 2021). "Gobzema partiju dibina sveču gaismā. Kāds cālēns izšķilsies? Egila Līcīša feļetons" (in Latvian). Latvijas Avīze. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  4. "Maverick Saeima deputies' marriage of convenience proves short-lived". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  5. "Saeima selects heads for committees; Čigāne now leads European Affairs Committee". Baltic News Network. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  6. "ElectionResult". sv2018.cvk.lv. Central Election Commission of Latvia. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  7. "Harmony member of parliament breaks away from party". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  8. "Latvian MP Julija Stepanenko: Removing Unvaccinated MPs from the Parliament is Deeply Undemocratic". Objektiiv. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.

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