Nine of 18 candidates advance in contest for State Chancellery director post
Nine out of 18 applicants have been shortlisted for the second round of the open competition for director of Latvia's State Chancellery. The post has been vacant since May, when Raivis Kronbergs left it.
Latvia's State Chancellery has announced that nine of the 18 candidates who applied for its director position have advanced to the second round of the open competition, the institution told the Delfi news portal.
In the first round, the evaluation commission reviewed submitted documents and checked whether candidates met the required education and experience criteria.
Upcoming stages
In the second round, the remaining candidates will explain their motivation for seeking the post, answer questions from the commission, and present their vision for the future development of public administration and its human resources policy, including the main challenges and priorities they identify.
The third round will assess candidates' management competencies — strategic thinking, the ability to make decisions and take responsibility, results orientation, change management, and team leadership.
At the end of the process, the highest-scoring candidate or candidates will be recommended to the Prime Minister for approval by the Cabinet of Ministers. The director is appointed for a five-year term.
Who sits on the commission
The evaluation commission is chaired by Mihails Papsujevičs, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice. Its members include Baiba Bāne, State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance; Inese Gailīte, acting director of the State Chancellery and head of its Legal Department; Normunds Mežviets, head of the State Security Service; and Andžejs Viļumsons, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Observers invited to the process include Katrīna Zariņa, chair of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Andris Bite, president of the Employers' Confederation of Latvia.
The director's post has been vacant since May, when Raivis Kronbergs left the role. The State Chancellery serves as the government's central institution, supporting its functioning and providing the Prime Minister and Cabinet with data-driven analysis to help inform decisions. The agency is led by its director, the country's highest-ranking civil servant.
