Daniels Pavļuts
Daniels Pavļuts (born 14 May 1976 in Jūrmala, Latvia) is a Latvian politician and the current Minister for Health of Latvia since January, 2021. He was formerly the Minister for Economics of Latvia, a position he served in from 2011 until 2014. In addition to his political and business career, he is a concert pianist. Career Prior to a career in politics, Pavļuts served as the head of corporate affairs at Swedbank AS in Riga, brand director for DDB Latvia, a member of the board at the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and a board member at ZENO Consulting. From 2003 to 2006, Pavļuts held the office of State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture of Latvia. In 2001, he worked as an adviser to the Director of Management and Communication at the Latvian National Opera. Minister of Health On January 7, 2021, Pavļuts was elected new Minister for Health of Latvia, after the sitting minister, Ilze Viņķele had stepped down at Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš's request. During his tenure, he has overseen Latvia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although he was originally opposed to mandatory vaccination measures, in November 2021 Saeima passed a law allowing employers to dismiss