Linda Murniece Minister of Defense of Latvia Country: Latvia

Biography of Linda Murniece

Linda Murniece, a Latvian stateswoman, is a former Minister of the Interior of Latvia and a former Minister of Defense. She has also served as a member of the 8th and 9th Saeima of Latvia. Murniece made history by becoming the first woman to hold the positions of Minister of Defense and Minister of the Interior in Latvia.

Murniece completed her education at School No. 1 in Jurmala in 1988 and later graduated from the University of Latvia in 1995, with a degree in journalism. She began her professional career as a police inspector and later worked as an inspector at the Security Police. She also served as a staff member at the Ministry of the Interior's press center, as well as the head of the advertising department at VEF Bank and the leader of projects for the "New Time" party.

In October 2002, Murniece was elected as a member of the 8th Saeima of Latvia. During her tenure, she was a member of the committees on national security, defense, and internal affairs, as well as the deputy chairman of the "New Time" faction. From January to April 2006, she held the position of Minister of Defense in Latvia. Murniece continued her political career as a member of the 9th Saeima of Latvia from 2006 to 2009, where she served on the committees on national security, defense, internal affairs, and corruption prevention.

From March 12, 2009, to June 6, 2011, Murniece served as the Minister of the Interior of Latvia. She has been married three times. Her first marriage was to Raymond Murnieks, which ended in divorce in 2011. They have two children together. Her second husband was Hossam Abu Meri, a Latvian politician of Lebanese descent, with whom she was married from 2012 until June 2017. Her third husband is Agnis Freibergs from Liepaja. They got married in November 2020 but their marriage lasted only two months.