Competition for State Chancellery Director Ends Without Result; Coalition Urgently Changes Appointment Procedure

The State Chancellery has announced that the competition for the institution's director position has concluded without a result. The candidate evaluation committee, after reviewing submitted documents and compliance with requirements, decided not to advance any of the six candidates to the second round.

The competition was announced on May 29 and was planned in three rounds, but ended after the first round. The committee is chaired by Dimitrijs Trofimovs, State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior.

The search for a new director began after the previous director, Raivis Kronbergs, was detained in mid-May in the so-called wood industry case. Initially suspended from office, the parties later agreed that Kronbergs would leave his post.

Meanwhile, the new ruling coalition in the Saeima on Thursday adopted amendments to the State Civil Service Law, allowing the Prime Minister to appoint the State Chancellery head without a competition. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs (AS) explained that the current regulation is "stupid" and paralyzes state administration, and acknowledged that the changes are being pushed specifically due to this vacancy, as there is no time to wait for the competition to conclude and there is little interest in the position.

The State Chancellery is the center of the government, providing the Prime Minister and the Cabinet with data- and research-based information for decision-making. Since 2015, the selection of heads of state administration institutions has been centralized by the State Chancellery.

Until a new director is appointed, duties are carried out by Inese Gailīte, Deputy Director for Legal Affairs of the State Chancellery.