Edgars Rinkevics came out in 2014 and has been a vocal champion of LGBT rights.
Latvia has sworn in its first openly LGBTQ+ president. Edgars Rinkēvičs is also the first openly gay head of state (as opposed to head of government) in the European Union.
Latvia's long-serving foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics has become the first openly gay head of state of a European Union nation. Mr Rinkevics, who had served as foreign minister since 2011, was sworn in as Latvia's president on Saturday in Riga. Although generally a ceremonial position, Latvia's president can veto legislation and call referendums. The EU has had openly gay heads of governments before, but never a gay head of state. In many countries, the heads of state and heads of government are different people - for example a president and prime minister. Former Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo was the EU's first openly gay head of government. Mr Rinkevics, 49, first came out in 2014 and has been a vocal champion of LGBT rights ever since. Gay marriage is illegal in Latvia, though the country's constitutional court recognised same sex unions last year. In May, Mr Rinkevics was elected by Latvia's parliament to be the country's next president at the third round of voting. On Saturday in his inaugural speech, Mr Rinkevics vowed to continue supporting Ukraine's ongoing war effort against Russia.
President Rinkēvičs, like his predecessor Egils Levits, is a strong supporter of Ukraine in its battle against genocide by Putin's Russia.
At the podium of the Saeima, Latvia's parliament where Rinkēvičs was sworn in, there's a Ukrainian flag as well as a Latvian flag. That's the Latvian presidential flag over his shoulder.
