PM Kulbergs to Submit Kaspars Gorkšs for State Chancellery Director

Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs will submit Employers’ Confederation of Latvia Director General Kaspars Gorkšs to the government for approval as Director of the State Chancellery on October 13, following a selection process where Gorkšs’s public institutional experience proved exclusively tied to sports.

Kaspars Gorkšs Appointed to Lead State Chancellery Despite Sports-Only Public Sector Record

Kaspars Gorkšs heads the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia as Director General, a post he has held since April 3, 2023. His professional footprint in state and municipal structures centers entirely on athletics and sports administration.

Director of the Jūrmala Football School starting November 9, 2020.
Board member of the Latvian Sports Federations Council from March 2021 to October 2023.
Executive Director of the Latvian Association of Team Sports for a three-year stint from March 2020 to March 2023.
President of the Latvian Football Federation from March 2018 to October 2019.

Gorkšs delivered lectures in the University of Latvia’s Sports Law course from September 2023 to August 2024. He earned both a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s degree in political science from the University of Latvia.

Selection Committee Narrows Eighteen Applicants to Three Finalists

The search for a new head of the government center began with an announced competition on August 7. Out of 18 initial applications, nine candidates advanced to the second evaluation round before the committee narrowed the field to three finalists for the third and final stage.

Those finalists included Ieva Jaunzeme, former Director General of the State Revenue Service and current sectoral attaché at the Central Finance and Contracting Agency, alongside Agita Kalviņa, Director of the Latvian School of Public Administration, and Gorkšs. The final competition phase probed core management competencies, including strategic vision, results orientation, change management, team leadership, and the willingness to accept responsibility and make decisions.

Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs Expects Data-Driven Government Reforms

Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs expects the State Chancellery to evolve into a data-driven centre of government designed to accelerate and sharpen decision-making. The cabinet will consider the appointment during its scheduled meeting on October 13.

I believe Gorkšs has the appropriate experience to implement the changes I have outlined for the State Chancellery.

Andris Kulbergs, Prime Minister

Prior Director Departs Following Detention in Timber Industry Case

The State Chancellery operates as the core administrative apparatus of the Latvian government, tasked with supporting the prime minister and Cabinet through research, data analysis, and policy scenario evaluations. Its director functions as the nation’s highest-ranking civil servant, overseeing an agency that has managed the centralized selection of heads for state direct administration institutions since September 2015.

Will the cabinet approve Kaspars Gorkšs as Director of the State Chancellery on October 13?