Rinkēvičs and Kulbergs hand over duties to deputies during trips abroad

Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs and Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs will both be abroad on Thursday and Friday, 15 and 16 October, so deputies will carry out their duties during that time. This is stated in a notice in the official gazette "Latvijas Vēstnesis".

Deputy for the president

Rinkēvičs is travelling to Slovenia on a working visit to take part in an informal meeting of the Arraiolos Group. Normally the first person to stand in for the president is the Speaker of the Saeima, Latvia's parliament, Daiga Mieriņa of the Union of Greens and Farmers. She will be absent during this period, however. The deputy speaker of the Saeima, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica of New Unity, has therefore been appointed to perform the head of state's duties on Thursday and Friday.

Deputy for the prime minister

Kulbergs, of the Progressives-aligned party Attīstībai/Par!, is scheduled to attend a European Council meeting on those days. He will be replaced by Edgars Tavars, the minister for smart administration and regional development, also from Attīstībai/Par!. Tavars has been designated as the prime minister's deputy starting from Wednesday, 14 October.

On Wednesday during the day Kulbergs will still be in Latvia. He is due to meet the president and take part in a meeting of the coordination council for large and strategically important investment projects.

The arrangement ensures that the country's two top offices have named stand-ins while their holders are away. The official notice lists both the deputies and the periods during which they will serve.