Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia
Latvijas Republikas Aizsardzības ministrija
Coat of arms of Latvia

Building of Ministry of Defence in Riga
Agency overview
Formed22 November 1918
(current form 13 November 1991)
JurisdictionGovernment of Latvia
HeadquartersKrišjāņa Valdemāra 10/12
Riga, Latvia
Employees1200
Minister responsible
  • Andris Sprūds, Minister
Websitewww.mod.gov.lv

The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republikas Aizsardzības ministrija) is the Latvian government ministry in charge of the formation and implementation of national security and defence policy, and for the overall management and control of related subordinate agencies, such as the Latvian National Armed Forces. The ministry is headed by the politically appointed Minister of Defence.

The ministry was established on 22 November 1918 as the Ministry of Protection (Latvian: Apsardzības ministrija), just four days after the proclamation of the independence of Latvia. Jānis Zālītis [lv], a member of the People's Council of Latvia, was appointed as minister.[1] After the end of the Latvian War of Independence, in 1922 the ministry was renamed as the Ministry of War (Latvian: Kara ministrija).

After the occupation of Latvia in 1940 by the Soviet Union, the ministry was formally dissolved on 27 September 1940, and its building taken over by the HQ of the Baltic Military District of the Soviet Army until August 1994.[2] On 13 November 1991, the ministry was re-established in its current form as the Ministry of Defence on the basis of the Public Security Department by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia.

Core tasks

Symbols

As all Latvian government institutions since January 2015, the Ministry of Defence uses the Large Coat of Arms of Latvia as its logo, sometimes topped with a bar of the respective color of the ministry (HEX #666633 or olive green in this case).[3][4] A previous symbol, which is still occasionally used by the ministry, consists of a rising sun with three stars in the center, similar to the cap badge of the Latvian Armed Forces adopted during the Latvian War of Independence and still in use today.[5]

The rising sun symbol is also visible on the top left corner of the personal Standard of the Minister of Defence (Latvian: Aizsardzības ministra karogs), adopted on 25 August 1922 and still in use today.[5][6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Latvijas armijas dibināšana". Nacionālie bruņotie spēki (in Latvian). Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  2. ^ "JG267 Rolfs Ekmanis: Uldis Briedis. 44 gadi caur fotoobjektīvu". jaunagaita.net. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  3. ^ "Valsts pārvaldes grafiskais standarts | Ministru kabinets" [The Government Visual Standard]. Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia (in Latvian). Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  4. ^ "Uniform Visual Identity for Latvia's Governmental Institutions". Design Studio H2E. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  5. ^ a b Pumpuriņš, Tālis (1998-10-09). "Latvijas sarkanbaltsarkanās krāsās" [In the red-white-red colors of Latvia]. Latvijas Vēstnesis (in Latvian). Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  6. ^ "On the Standard of the President, the Standard of the Speaker of the Saeima, the Standard of the Prime Minister, and the Standard of the Minister for Defence". LIKUMI.LV. 1995-06-08. Retrieved 2023-05-03.

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