The Saeima has elected Andris Strazds as the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Latvia

The Saeima of the Republic of Latvia has elected Andris Strazds as the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Latvia and simultaneously relieved Māris Kālis of this position. Both decisions were announced in the official publication “Latvijas Vēstnesis” on September 18, 2026, No. 180, with the official reference OP 2026/180, in the “CONSTITUTIONAL INSTITUTIONS” section under the publishing institution Saeima. The announcements were published as separate Saeima announcements — numbers 3 and 4, respectively, in this publication.

Two Saeima announcements in one official publication

• 3rd Saeima announcement “On the election of Andris Strazds as the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Latvia”.
• 4th Saeima announcement “On the relief of Māris Kālis from the position of Deputy Governor of the Bank of Latvia”.

Both announcements were placed in the same issue of the official publication and in the same section, meaning that the confirmation of the appointee and the relief of the previous official were formalized as two separate Saeima decisions. The public reference to the publication is OP 2026/180, and its content is available in the official publication “Latvijas Vēstnesis” (www.vestnesis.lv, publication address https://www.vestnesis.lv/url/16978?content=1).

Context: publishing institution and central bank regulation

The Saeima announcements section is part of the official publication where Saeima decisions on the appointment, election, and relief of officials are published; in this case, the publishing institution is the Saeima, and the publication number is 180, corresponding to September 18, 2026.

The regulatory activity of the Bank of Latvia during the same week was also reflected in the previous issue of the official publication: amendments to the Bank of Latvia Regulations No. 236 of December 19, 2022, “Bank of Latvia payment services price list in the field of cash” — Bank of Latvia Regulations No. 424 — were published in “Latvijas Vēstnesis” No. 179 (OP 2026/179) on September 17, 2026.

Other personnel changes in the same issue

• 2nd Saeima announcement “On the appointment of Aldis Černis as a judge of the district (city) court”.
• 8th Saeima announcement “On the relief of Irina Freimane, judge of the Zemgale District Court, from the position of judge”.

The block of Saeima announcements in the September 18 issue also includes other personnel decisions within the court system, thus personnel changes in a single publication affect both the management of the central bank and the judiciary.

Other Saeima decisions in the September 18 issue

• 1st Saeima announcement “On the further progress of the collective application of 10,200 Latvian citizens to ‘Increase the care allowance for persons with severe disabilities and link it to the minimum wage’”.
• 5th, 6th, and 7th Saeima announcements “On the Saeima’s consent to the redistribution of appropriations specified in the law ‘On the State Budget for 2026 and the Budget Framework for 2026, 2027, and 2028’” — three separate announcements.

These entries show that in the official publication of September 18, the range of Saeima decisions covers personnel matters, the redistribution of budget appropriations, and the progress of a collective submission by citizens.

Why this is important

The change of the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Latvia is a high-level personnel decision in the central bank that directly affects monetary policy and the financial sector; the official confirmation was published in “Latvijas Vēstnesis” on September 18, 2026, No. 180, with reference OP 2026/180. A conclusion essential for readers is that the new official was confirmed by a separate Saeima announcement (No. 3), while the previous one was released by another Saeima announcement (No. 4) in the same issue.

Official source: “Latvijas Vēstnesis”, September 18, 2026, No. 180, OP 2026/180, section “CONSTITUTIONAL INSTITUTIONS — Saeima”, Saeima announcements 3 and 4; additional context — “Latvijas Vēstnesis”, September 17, 2026, No. 179, OP 2026/179, Bank of Latvia Regulation No. 424. Document file: vestnesis-2026-09-18-180.full.md.