The government supports the candidacy of Kēnins for the position of Director General of the State Environmental Service

He won the competition for the position of director general of the State Environmental Service (VVD).

Ķeniņš is also acting director general of the State Environmental Service, as well as a member of the board of the state SIA “Environmental Investment Fund”.

Prior to that, he was the executive director of the “Latvijas Raidorganizaciju Association” society. At the same time, he also held the position of a council member of the state JSC “Road Safety Directorate”.

From 2012 to 2017, Kēniņš was the head of the secretariat of the National Electronic Media Council (NEPLP). Prior to that, the winner of the competition held positions related to the management of departments and divisions, and was a member of the council and board of several organizations. The potential general director of the VVD has obtained a professional master’s degree in jurisprudence at the University of Latvia.

Kēniņš, addressing the ministers, said that the biggest task in his work will be to reduce the administrative burden of the service. The ministers expressed their appreciation for the work that Kēnins has invested so far in his role as Acting Director General of VVD, at the same time urging Kēnins to pay attention to how to balance the development of the national economy with compliance with environmental requirements.

Minister of Economy Viktors Valainis (ZZS) emphasized that the development of business parks are very important projects for the country, and they will have to be implemented in cooperation with VVD. Valainis called on Kēniņa to work in his new position “with an understanding of economic development”, as well as “to look for solutions on how to do something, rather than looking for reasons why not to do something”.

As reported, a total of nine applicants applied for the competition, six of whom competed in the second round of selection.

The previous general director of VVD, Elita Baklāne-Ansberga, left her position in the summer of 2023 after disagreements with the minister responsible for the industry at the time, Māri Sprindžuks (AS).

Baklāne-Ansberga has won the competition for the position of deputy executive director of the city of Riga.