Laimdota Straujuma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laimdota Straujuma
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Straujuma in 2016
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| 21st Prime Minister of Latvia | |
| In office 22 January 2014 – 11 February 2016 |
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| President | Andris Bērziņš Raimonds Vējonis |
| Preceded by | Valdis Dombrovskis |
| Succeeded by | Māris Kučinskis |
| Minister of Agriculture | |
| In office 25 October 2011 – 22 January 2014 |
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| Prime Minister | Valdis Dombrovskis |
| Preceded by | Jānis Dūklavs |
| Succeeded by | Jānis Dūklavs |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 February 1951 Mežvidi, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (now Latvia) |
| Political party | People's Party (1998–2011) Unity (2011–present) |
| Alma mater | University of Latvia Latvian Academy of Sciences |
| Awards |  |
Laimdota Straujuma was born on February 24, 1951. She is a Latvian economist, which means she studies how money and resources are used in a country. She was the prime minister of Latvia from January 2014 to February 2016.
Before becoming prime minister, she worked as the Minister of Agriculture from 2011 to 2014. She was the first woman to lead the government of Latvia. After she resigned in December 2015, she planned to return to her seat in the Saeima, which is Latvia's parliament.
Early Career in Government
Laimdota Straujuma started working in the Ministry of Agriculture in 1999. From 2000 to 2006, she was the Secretary of State for this ministry. This is a very important role, helping to manage the ministry's work.
From 2007 to 2010, she was the Secretary of State for the Ministry for Regional Development and Local Government. This ministry helps different areas and towns in Latvia.
In 2004, Latvia joined the European Union. Straujuma helped manage how money for farms, called agricultural subsidies, was given out from the EU.
In 2011, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis chose Straujuma to be the Minister of Agriculture. In this job, she worked to get more farm money from the European Union, and she was successful. She left the People's Party in 2011 and joined the Unity political party.
Prime Minister of Latvia
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On January 5, 2014, the Unity Party suggested Straujuma to become the next Prime Minister. This happened after the previous prime minister, Valdis Dombrovskis, resigned. Other political parties, like the Reform Party and the National Alliance, supported her. Even the opposition party, the Union of Greens and Farmers, agreed.
After the parliamentary election in 2014, the Unity Party came in second place. The President of Latvia Andris Bērziņš then asked Straujuma to form a new government. The Saeima approved her new government on November 5, 2014.
As the first female prime minister of Latvia, her time in office lasted almost two years. During her leadership, she focused on making Latvia's national defense stronger. This was important because of changes in the security situation in the region.
Why She Resigned
Laimdota Straujuma resigned from her position on December 7, 2015. News reports said that it was hard for her to keep the different parties in her government working together. There were big issues at the time, like the European migrant crisis and strikes by teachers. There were also disagreements about how to help the national airline, Air Baltic, which had a lot of debt.
Another challenge was the 2016 budget. The government wanted to spend more money on defense to meet NATO's goal of spending 2% of a country's GDP on defense. This made the budget difficult to agree on.
When she resigned, Straujuma said that the government needed "new ideas, a new contribution and a new energy."
Honour
- Cross of Recognition
See also
In Spanish: Laimdota Straujuma para niños
- First Straujuma cabinet
- Second Straujuma cabinet
