President Edgars Rinkēvičs issued an order on June 18, awarding the rank of lieutenant general to Kaspars Pudiņš, the commander of the National Armed Forces, according to a statement from the president.
Until now, Pudiņš held the rank of major general, which he received a year and a half ago upon taking office as the commander of the National Armed Forces. According to the National Armed Forces, there is no higher military rank than lieutenant general in the Latvian army.
Pudiņš, born in 1976, has been serving in the National Armed Forces since 1994. From February 2023 to January 2025, he served as the acting commander of the National Guard, and then he was appointed as the commander of the National Armed Forces.
