Egils Levits

Speaker at the St. Gallen Symposium

Egils Levits served as the President of Latvia from 2019 to 2023. From 1989 to 1991, President Levits participated in the restoration of Latvia. Later in the 1990s, he represented the Republic of Latvia as an Ambassador to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Hungary. He also held positions as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and served as a Conciliator at the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE. Between 1995 and 2004, President Levits served as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights, followed by a tenure as a judge at the European Court of Justice from 2004 to 2019. He is a graduate in law and political science from the University of Hamburg and has co-authored significant draft laws, including the Law on the Constitutional Court of Latvia and the Law on the Structure of the Cabinet of Ministers.