Andris Piebalgs

Andris Piebalgs [ pi ː andrɪs ɛbalgz ] ( born September 17, 1957 in Valmiera ) is a Latvian diplomat, politician and European Commissioner.

Career in Latvia

Andris Piebalgs studied at the University of Latvia in Riga physics and was in the 1980 teacher of mathematics and physics in Valmiera.

He was active in the Latvian Popular Front and in 1993 a co-founder of the liberal- conservative party " Latvia's Way " ( Latvijas Cels ). From 1990 to 1993 he was Minister of Education, 1993-1994 Member of Parliament and Minister of Finance from 1994 to 1995. From 1995 to 1997 he was a Latvian Ambassador to Estonia.

Career in the EU

Piebalgs 1998-2003 Ambassador of Latvia to the European Union in Brussels. He was a leading negotiator for the accession negotiations of Latvia to the EU.

In 2004, he worked as Brussels bureau chief of Latvian Commissioner Sandra Kalniete. In early November, he was sent by the Latvian government instead of the controversial EU Parliament Commissioner-designate Ingrida UDRE the new Representative of Latvia to the Barroso I. He was given the post of energy Kommissares, which should actually include the Hungarian László Kovács, this was Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union. For subsequent Commission, he was confirmed on 9 February 2010 as Commissioner for Development.

Others

In addition to his native language Latvian Piebalgs speaks fluent German, Russian, French and English. In addition, he has basic knowledge of Estonian. He is married and father of three children.