Latvian parliament approves new foreign minister

Riga - Parliamentarians in Latvia approved the appointment of a new foreign minister Thursday - ending more than a month of uncertainty surrounding one of the most important jobs in government.

The new foreign minister is Aivis Ronis, a non-partisan career diplomat who has previously served as Latvia's ambassador to the United Nations and NATO. Ronis has said previously he would take the job only until a general election in October as he has no desire to enter politics.

Incumbent foreign minister Maris Riekstins had carried on in the job in a caretaker capacity after submitting his resignation along with three other ministers on March 22 when his political party decided to withdraw from the coalition government of Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis.

Speaking to MPs ahead of the vote on Ronis' appointment, Dombrovskis said Latvia needed to resolve the issue to maintain its international standing.

Ronis won the backing of parliament with 90 votes in favor, no votes against and one abstention.

However, two other top positions at the health and justice ministries remain vacant while the resignation of Edgars Zalans at the regional development ministry led to the liquidation of the ministry.

The approval of Ronis as foreign minister will provide some cheer to Dombrovskis' increasingly embattled minority government.

A parliamentary vote on April 15 on the re-appointment of prosecutor general Janis Maizitis produced a shock result when his candidacy was rejected in a secret ballot.

Yet both before and after the vote, a majority of MPs claimed they had supported him, making it clear that many of them had simply lied, a situation Dombrovskis described as "shameful."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321147,latvian-parliament-approves-new-foreign-minister.html.