Mārtiņš Staķis

Mārtiņš Staķis (born 4 July 1979) is a Latvian politician and businessman, currently serving as Mayor of Riga since 2020. He served as a deputy of the 13th Saeima, the Latvian parliament, until he resigned on 5 June 2020. On 29 August 2020, Staķis was elected to the Riga City Council, and on 2 October, elected Mayor of Riga.[1]

Mārtiņš Staķis
Staķis in 2018
Mayor of Riga
Assumed office
2 October 2020
PresidentEgils Levits
Prime MinisterKrišjānis Kariņš
Preceded byOļegs Burovs
(Interim administration since February 2020)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Defence
In office
1 February 2019 – 21 August 2020
Preceded byViesturs Silenieks
Succeeded byBaiba Bļodniece
Deputy to the Saeima
In office
6 November 2018 – 5 June 2020
Personal details
Born (1979-07-04) 4 July 1979
Tukums, Latvian SSR, USSR
(now Latvia)
NationalityLatvian
Political partyMovement For!
Other political
affiliations		Development/For!
Parent(s)
ResidenceRiga, Latvia
Alma materUniversity of Latvia
Helsinki School of Economics
OccupationBusinessman, politician

He is a member of the political party Movement For! and represents the political alliance Development/For!.

Biography

Staķis is the son of Dagnija Staķe, the former Minister of Regional Development and Local Governments of Latvia.[2]

He graduated from the Tukums Rainis Gymnasium in 2004 and obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of Latvia, specializing in municipal organization. He also studied at the Helsinki School of Economics in Finland.[2][3]

Staķis started his working life in a Narvesen kiosk and for more than a decade, from 1999 to 2010, worked as a marketing director. Since 2010, he has been a businessman, distributor of the coffee brand illy and owner of Innocent Cafe in Riga.[2][3]

He gained public recognition for hosting the TV show Saknes debesīs on LTV1.[4] He has also been active in the Latvian National Guard as well as working as a volunteer for the youth educational organization MOT.[5]

Staķis is one of the founders and members of the choir Pa Saulei as well as a board member of the St. Gertrude Old Church in Riga.[6] He is one of the authors behind the Ū vitamīns initiative, aiming to provide free drinking water in cafes, restaurants and other public places.[7]

Political work

In August 2017, Staķis helped found Movement For!, and was elected to the board of the party.[8] Since its founding, Staķis has been active in the party, both as executive director and leader of its pre-election campaign.[6]

Staķis was elected in the Riga Constituency in the 2018 Latvian parliamentary elections, representing the Development/For! alliance, formed between his own Movement For! and the classical liberal For Latvia's Development. Before the election, Staķis was discussed as a possible candidate for the office of Minister of Defence.[9]

Before the 2020 Riga City Council elections, Staķis gave up his seat in the Saeima on 5 June 2020, and party colleague Krista Baumane took over his seat.

On 29 August 2020, elections were held, with the alliance between Development/For! and The Progressives winning 18 seats, the most of any electoral list.[10] On 2 October 2020 Staķis was elected Mayor, leading a broad coalition consisting of Development/For!, The Progressives, New Unity, the National Alliance, the Latvian Association of Regions and the New Conservative Party.[1]

References
  1. "Par Rīgas mēru ievēlēts Mārtiņš Staķis" (in Latvian). Latvijas Avīze. October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  2. Kincis, Jānis (August 10, 2020). "Ko Rīgai sola "Attīstībai/Par!", "Progresīvie" un Mārtiņš Staķis?" (in Latvian). Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  3. "Mārtiņš Staķis" (in Latvian). Movement For!. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  4. "LTV raidījumu "Saknes debesīs" vadīs Mārtiņš Staķis" (in Latvian). Latvijas Avīze. August 16, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  5. "Mārtiņš Staķis". latvia.mot.global. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  6. "Kustības 'Par!' priekšvēlēšanu kampaņu kūrēs uzņēmējs un reliģijas raidījuma vadītājs Staķis" (in Latvian). DELFI. December 28, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  7. "Uzsāk bezmaksas Ū vitamīna nodrošināšanu sabiedriskās vietās" (in Latvian). udensparbrivu.lv. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  8. "Partiju "Kustība Par!" vadīs Pavļuts; valdē ievēlē arī Viņķeli un Dālderi" (in Latvian). Public Broadcasting of Latvia. August 26, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  9. Domburs, Jānis (September 5, 2018). "'Par ko balsot?' Kandidātu debates par Latvijas aizsardzību. Pilns ieraksts" (in Latvian). DELFI. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  10. "Development/For!/Progressives lead the way in Rīga council elections". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. August 30, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
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