Former Jelgava County Mayor Madars Lasmanis Begins Work in Ogre Municipality

Former Jelgava County Council chairman Madars Lasmanis (LA) has been appointed head of the Strategic Planning Department in Ogre, according to publicly available information. He replaces Jānis Eglīts, former parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Defence, who had led the department since early 2024. Eglīts now serves as a strategic planning specialist in the same department.

Lasmanis did not provide comments to LETA agency and did not disclose when he started his new duties. The Strategic Planning Department in Ogre was established more than two years ago.

As previously reported, Lasmanis resigned from his post on April 3, 2024, after seven deputies submitted a request to remove him from office over a potential ethics violation. A video from a Budget Committee meeting on March 13 showed Lasmanis, while chairing the meeting from a car, touching a woman's leg in the back seat. Deputies viewed this as a breach of ethical standards.

In a statement, Lasmanis said he stepped down to avoid hindering the election of a new leader and the smooth operation of the municipality. He acknowledged that everyone must adhere to ethical standards and that a person in public office should not find themselves in a situation open to interpretation. Lasmanis claimed he had apologized to colleagues and residents and promised to work to restore his reputation.