Andris Ameriks (born March 5, 1961, in Jūrmala, Latvian SSR) is a Latvian politician and economist who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since the 2019 elections. He is a former deputy mayor of Riga.
Andris Ameriks | |
|---|---|
 Ameriks in 2009 | |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| In office 2019–2024 | |
| Deputy Mayor of Riga | |
| In office 9 November 2010 – 17 December 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Ainārs Šlesers |
| Succeeded by | Oļegs Burovs |
| Member of the Speaker of the Saeima | |
| In office 7 November 1995 – 1 November 1998 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 March 1961 Jūrmala, Latvia, Soviet Union |
| Political party | Honor to serve Riga (2012–2024) |
| Spouse | Ginta Amerika[1] |
Political career
editCareer in national politics
editDuring his youth, he was a former first secretary of the Communist Youth organization of the Latvian SSR. From 1993 to 1998 he was a member of the Saeima, representing the National Harmony Party and later, Democratic Party "Saimnieks". From 2001 he has been a member of the Riga City Council, from 2010 till 2018 serving as the Deputy Chairman of Riga City Council, i.e. the deputy mayor of the Latvian capital.[2]
Ameriks is known to be getting a significant part of his income from investments in payday loan companies.[3] In 2017 Ameriks received the largest income among the elected municipal officials in Latvia, reporting an income of 616,386 EUR and 35,250 USD, with most of it being interest payments from Mogo non-bank lender and from the sale of securities.[4]
Ameriks resigned as deputy mayor of Riga City Council on December 17, 2018, amid corruption allegations around Rīgas Satiksme.[5][6][7] On December 19, 2018, members from the Riga City Council opposition initiated an unsuccessful vote of no confidence against Ameriks as a board chairman for Freeport of Riga.[8]
Member of the European Parliament
editAmeriks has been a Member of the European Parliament since the 2019 elections. He has since been serving on the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Committee on Petitions.
In addition to his committee assignments, Ameriks is part of the Parliament’s delegation to the EU-Kazakhstan, EU-Kyrgyzstan, EU-Uzbekistan and EU-Tajikistan Parliamentary Cooperation Committees and for relations with Turkmenistan and Mongolia.[9] He is also a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Western Sahara.[10]
References
edit- ^ Bagātākie cilvēki Latvijā, patiesā labuma guvēji Archived 2018-01-12 at the Wayback Machine Toms Ostrovskis/TVNET, 2016. gada 31. oktobrī
- ^ "Riga Vice Mayor – Andris Ameriks". Baltic News Network. November 9, 2010. Archived from the original on December 29, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- ^ "Ameriks received nearly 200,000 euros from fast loan companies in interest pay". Baltic News Network. LETA. March 22, 2017. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
- ^ "Riga vice-mayor boasts largest income among Latvian municipal officials in 2017". The Baltic Course. April 26, 2018. Archived from the original on April 16, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- ^ "Rīga deputy mayor quits as transport company scandal grows". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. December 17, 2018. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- ^ "Ameriks resigns as Riga vice mayor". The Baltic Course. December 17, 2018. Archived from the original on April 16, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- ^ "Andris Ameriks steps down as Vice-Mayor of Riga". Baltic News Network. December 17, 2018. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- ^ "Ameriks survives vote of no-confidence to remain Freeport of Riga board chairman". The Baltic Course. December 19, 2018. Archived from the original on April 16, 2024. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
- ^ Andris Ameriks Archived 2019-10-04 at the Wayback Machine European Parliament.
- ^ Intergroup on Western Sahara Archived 2022-11-05 at the Wayback Machine European Parliament.
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