Māris Gailis

Māris Gailis (born July 9, 1951 in Riga) is a Latvian businessman and former politician. He is the former Prime Minister of Latvia, an office he held from September to December 1995. In the government of the Prime Minister Valdis Birkavs, Gailis became a Minister of State Reform; in the government of the Prime Minister Andris Šķēle, he was the Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. As a member of the right-wing liberal political party Latvian Way, he was elected in the 5th Saeima and 6th Saeima. He led a round-the-globe expedition on yacht Milda from 2001 to 2003.

Education

From 1958 to 1969 he studied at Riga Secondary School No. 1. Afterwards, he enrolled in Riga Poly – Technical Institute, where he studied at the Faculty of Electric Energy from 1969 to 1971. Later, he transferred to the Faculty of Engineering and Mechanics and graduated in 1978 after achieving a degree in engineering sciences. He interrupted his studies from 1971 until 1973 due to service in the Soviet Army in Belarus, where he operated a tank squad.