Latvia: President Edgars Rinkevics takes oath of office

Latvia’s new president, Edgars Rinkevics, has taken his oath of office in the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, LSM reports. In his inaugural speech, Rinkevics pledged to work for the creation of a “modern, strong, legal, and just Latvia,” for people’s well-being, and for an inclusive and respectful society. He said that everyone “should feel that they belonged, were protected, and were safe.” The state must be both legal and fair, and cannot function solely from the perspective of force or legal formalism, Rinkevics said. Public officials must stop “obsessing over the process, instructions, and paragraphs and instead focus on the result,” he insisted.