Will Colonel Become the 15th Minister of Defense? 0 15

As is known, Evika Silina herself found and nominated a candidate for the post of Minister of Defense - her advisor, Colonel Raivis Melnis. Experts have rightly pointed out that if Melnis receives the mandate of confidence from the Saeima, which is not yet a fact, he will become the first military person to hold the position of Minister of Defense. Yes, since 1991, no professional military personnel have led the Ministry of Defense, or more precisely - those who were on active military service before being appointed as minister.

If we take a brief look at history, we will see that over these 35 years, 15 politicians have held the position of Minister of Defense, with Artis Pabriks, Talavs Yundzis, and Aitis Slakteris even serving twice. And only one of all 15 ministers had a military background - back in 1993, the Ministry of Defense was headed by Valdis Pavlovskis, a representative of the Latvian diaspora, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps and rose to the rank of captain over 10 years of service. By the way, the Ministry of Defense has repeatedly been headed by representatives of the Latvian emigration - alongside Pavlovskis, also Arveds Trapans, another holder of an American passport, Imants Liegis, and Krisjanis Karins himself, who briefly served as minister after Einar Repse's resignation.

In any case, there is a chance that for the first time, the Ministry of Defense will be led by a professional. However, first, the Prime Minister will need to persuade the "Progressives" to vote for him tomorrow. After all, relying on the opposition is not an option for Silina - almost the entire opposition has made it clear that they do not intend to support the candidate for the post of Minister of Defense. And not because they are against Melnis, but because they do not want to save this government and Silina's political image in any way.

Meanwhile, as is known, the post of Minister of Defense, according to the coalition agreement, is supposed to go to the "Progressives," who, according to rumors, are feverishly searching for their own candidates for the vacant position. However, there are not many politicians among the "Progressives" who have at least some experience in public administration... Still, according to unofficial information, the "Progressives," under certain circumstances, may agree to remain in the government and support Melnis. They say that the interests of the state and security are more important to us than political grievances...