Andris Ameriks
MEP
Ameriks in 2009
Member of the European Parliament
Assumed office
2019
Deputy Mayor of Riga
In office
9 November 2010 – 17 December 2018
Preceded byAinārs Šlesers
Succeeded byOļegs Burovs
Member of the Speaker of the Saeima
In office
7 November 1995 – 1 November 1998
Personal details
Born (1961-03-05) 5 March 1961 (age 62)
Jūrmala, Latvia, Soviet Union
Political partyHonor to serve Riga (since 2012)
SpouseGinta Amerika[1]

Andris Ameriks (born March 5, 1961 in Jūrmala, Latvian SSR) is a Latvian politician and economist who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since the 2019 elections. He is a former deputy mayor of Riga.

Political career

Career in national politics

During his youth, he was a former first secretary of the Communist Youth organization of the Latvian SSR. From 1993 to 1998 he was a member of the Saeima, representing the National Harmony Party and later, Democratic Party "Saimnieks". From 2001 he has been a member of the Riga City Council, from 2010 till 2018 serving as the Deputy Chairman of Riga City Council, i.e. the deputy mayor of the Latvian capital.[2]

Ameriks is known to be getting a significant part of his income from investments in payday loan companies.[3] In 2017 Ameriks received the largest income among the elected municipal officials in Latvia, reporting an income of 616,386 EUR and 35,250 USD, with most of it being interest payments from Mogo non-bank lender and from the sale of securities.[4]

Ameriks resigned as deputy mayor of Riga City Council on December 17, 2018, amid corruption allegations around Rīgas Satiksme.[5][6][7] On December 19, 2018 members from the Riga City Council opposition initiated an unsuccessful vote of no confidence against Ameriks as a board chairman for Freeport of Riga.[8]

Member of the European Parliament

Ameriks has been a Member of the European Parliament since the 2019 elections. He has since been serving on the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Committee on Petitions.

In addition to his committee assignments, Ameriks is part of the Parliament’s delegation to the EU-Kazakhstan, EU-Kyrgyzstan, EU-Uzbekistan and EU-Tajikistan Parliamentary Cooperation Committees and for relations with Turkmenistan and Mongolia.[9] He is also a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Western Sahara.[10]

References

  1. ^ Bagātākie cilvēki Latvijā, patiesā labuma guvēji Toms Ostrovskis/TVNET, 2016. gada 31. oktobrī
  2. ^ "Riga Vice Mayor – Andris Ameriks". Baltic News Network. November 9, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  3. ^ "Ameriks received nearly 200,000 euros from fast loan companies in interest pay". Baltic News Network. LETA. March 22, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  4. ^ "Riga vice-mayor boasts largest income among Latvian municipal officials in 2017". The Baltic Course. April 26, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  5. ^ "Rīga deputy mayor quits as transport company scandal grows". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  6. ^ "Ameriks resigns as Riga vice mayor". The Baltic Course. December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  7. ^ "Andris Ameriks steps down as Vice-Mayor of Riga". Baltic News Network. December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  8. ^ "Ameriks survives vote of no-confidence to remain Freeport of Riga board chairman". The Baltic Course. December 19, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  9. ^ Andris Ameriks European Parliament.
  10. ^ Intergroup on Western Sahara European Parliament.


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