LATVIA: Foreign Minister Comes Out
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics announced Thursday that he was gay, breaking a barrier in Eastern Europe’s socially conservative political arena. The declaration, made via a cheerful Twitter posting, immediately gave gay rights advocates a prominent voice in post-Soviet Eastern Europe. The region — where openly gay public figures are a rarity — has significantly lagged behind the United States and Western Europe in its acceptance of same-sex relationships. The announcement came less than two months before Latvia assumes the European Union’s rotating presidency on Jan. 1, giving Rinkevics an even higher-profile platform from which to push for more tolerance for same-sex relationships.
“Our country has to create a legal status for all kinds of partner relationships, and I will fight for this. I know that there will quickly be mega-hysteria, but #proudtobegay,” he wrote Thursday on Twitter. A spokesman confirmed the authenticity of the post. Rinkevics, 41, one of Latvia’s most popular politicians, had long declined to discuss his personal life. He is a member of the ruling Unity party and since 2011 has been foreign minister of the Baltic nation of 2 million people. Latvia enacted a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in 2005, and very few gay men and lesbians in the country are open about their sexuality.
Labels: coming out, gay politicians, Latvia
