Valdis Zatlers

President of the Republic of Latvia

President Valdis Zatlers was born in Rīga, Latvia, in 1955. He is a graduate of the Rīga Institute of Medicine, where he received his degree as a physician in 1979. Dr Zatlers received professional training in orthopaedics at Yale University and Syracuse University in the United States in 1991. He worked as a trauma specialist and orthopaedist from 1979 and 1985 and then as head of the Traumatology Department from 1985 until 1994 at the Rīga No. 2 Hospital. From 1994 until 2007, he served as director and then board chairman of the State Hospital of Traumatology and Orthopaedics. In 1993, Dr Zatlers received an award from the International Arthroscopy Association (IAA) for his contributions toward the development of this field of treatment in developing countries. From 1995 until 1999, he was the Latvian co-ordinator for an aid project from Switzerland.

In 1986, as a medical service officer, Dr Zatlers travelled to Chernobyl, Ukraine, to help deal with the aftermath of the nuclear disaster that took place there. During the National Awakening of the late 1980s, Dr Zatlers became an activist in the Latvian Medical Association and the establishment of the Latvian People’s Front. He was a board member of the former and a council member of the latter organisation.

In 2007, Dr Zatlers was elected President of Latvia. He is a Commander of the Order of Three Stars, a holder of the Order of Viesturs, First Class, and the recipient of the Cross of Recognition, First Class. President Zatlers has taken a keen interest in security policy. He views national security in the context of the Euroatlantic collective security system. This approach entails not just benefits, but also responsibilities, including active participation in international missions such as ISAF in Afghanistan, both via military resources for stabilisation and civilian efforts aimed at the country’s development.