The new Latvian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Āris Vīgants, receives his credentials from the President of Latvia

On 1 December 2020, at an official ceremony in Riga Castle, the President of Latvia, Egils Levits, presented credentials to the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Latvia to the Republic of Korea, Āris Vīgants.

Āris Vīgants began his diplomatic career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1994 at the Secretariat of the Baltic Council of Ministers. Since then, he has held various posts, including as Head of the Baltic and Nordic Division, the Russia Division, and the European Member States and the General Affairs Division, as well as serving at the Permanent Representation of Latvia to the European Union, and the Latvian Embassies in Italy and the United States of America. From 2010 to 2014, Āris Vīgants was Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Presidium of the Saeima (the Latvian Parliament).

Āris Vīgants holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Riga Technical University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Latvia specializing in International Economics and Business.

The Ambassador is fluent in English, Russian and Italian, and basic proficiency in French.

In his post, Āris Vīgants succeeds Pēteris Vaivars, who became the first resident Latvian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea in 2016.