If Raivis Melnis becomes the head of defense, he will not be the first non-partisan minister in the recent history of Latvia. Moreover, he will not be the first non-partisan minister in the current government!
So, at this moment, the fate of the Silin government is being decided - the prime minister has arrived for a serious conversation with the deputies of the "Progressive" faction. To the meeting, Evika Silina brought her candidate for the post of Minister of Defense, Raivis Melnis, who is a professional military officer and therefore does not belong to and is not even allowed to belong to a political party. At least until he resigns from military service.
If we look at the recent history of Latvia, in the overwhelming majority of cases, ministers have represented one political force or another, meaning they had a party card in their pocket. However, throughout the 35 years since the restoration of independence, there have been non-partisan ministers in various government compositions - most often, professionals in specific fields. For example, in Karins' first government, the Ministry of Health was headed by a non-partisan specialist in management, Liga Mengelsone, and towards the end of the previous parliament's term, a non-partisan Kristaps Eklons, who was previously one of the leaders of the fire and rescue service, was invited to head the Ministry of the Interior. He managed the ministry from the end of May to December, that is, effectively during the period before and after the elections - until the new government was formed. In fact, a similar role is now assigned to Raivis Melnis. It is noteworthy that there was already one non-partisan minister in this government - the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, who, however, soon after her appointment as head of the foreign affairs department joined the ranks of the "Unity" party.
Interestingly, in the recent history of Latvia, there was also one non-partisan prime minister - Andris Škēle, who first headed the government in the 90s as a non-partisan. He came to the post of head of government from the position of Deputy Minister of Agriculture (farming). Subsequently, Škēle created his own party and then twice led the government as the leader of the People's Party.
In most cases, non-partisan ministers eventually joined one party or another, as coalition governments imply political responsibility for each ruling party in a particular area - how can a party be held accountable and "command" a minister who is de jure politically independent? Thus, the non-partisan Minister of Agriculture, Laimdota Straujuma, once headed the Ministry of Agriculture and then joined "Unity" and ultimately became the prime minister from that party.
However, Aivis Ronis managed to work in two governments - first as Minister of Communications and then as head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - without joining any party!
The most non-partisan ministers and so-called state ministers (ministers without a portfolio) were in the first government of Godmanis, which operated from 1990 to 1993. This is understandable, as the party system was just being revived at that time, and until 1993, the People's Front of Latvia effectively played the role of the first ruling party, which Godmanis represented.
