Baiba Braže (born 4 December 1966) is a Latvian politician and diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2024. She previously served as the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy from 2020 to 2023. A member of New Unity, Braže has held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in her diplomatic career between 1993 and 2024.
Born in Riga, Braže studied at the University of Latvia where she earned a master's degree in law and another master's degree in communication science. She also studied in Salzburg in Austria, as well as at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and the Åbo Akademi University in Finland. She began her career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993 and served as the Permanent Representative of Latvia to the United Nations from 1996 to 1998. Braže then worked as a Foreign Affairs adviser to Prime Minister Vilis Krištopans and later served as the Ambassador of Latvia to the Netherlands from July 2003 to August 2008. After her husband became the Dutch ambassador to several Asian countries, Braže moved with her family to Asia and studied at the Chulalongkorn University whilst living there.
Braže returned to the Foreign Ministry in 2011 and worked as Directorate of Security Policy and International Organisations until 2016. In 2015, she became the non-resident Ambassador of Latvia to Indonesia, becoming the first ever Latvian Ambassador to the country. She also briefly worked as the Director General of the Communications Directorate from February to July 2016. In August 2016, she was appointed Ambassador of Latvia to the United Kingdom, shortly after the Brexit referendum. Braže left her position as Ambassador to the UK in order to become the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy in May 2020, the highest ranking position any Latvian had ever held in the organisation. She served in the position until 2023, and then worked as an Ambassador at Large in the Foreign Ministry from 2023 to 2024.
In April 2024, following the resignation of Krišjānis Kariņš, Braže was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Siliņa cabinet. She became the second female Latvian foreign minister in history, since Sandra Kalniete who served in the position over 20 years prior. In June 2024, she joined New Unity, having not previously been a member of any political party during her entire diplomatic career.
Early life and education Braže was born on 4 December 1966 in Riga in Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union, although her parents are from the city of Liepāja. Braže spent many of her childhood summers in Bārta, where her grandparents lived. Braže stated that her grandfather, Fricis, had built his house there with his own hands and took care of it all his life, whilst her grandmother, Alvīne, was a singer in a Bārta ensemble and teacher at a school in Bārta. She started going to Bārta less often when she began training to become a javelin thrower and going to competitions. She trained with athlete Valentīna Eiduka, and continued to train for ten years until she stopped playing after an injury. She has attributed President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga and conductor Mariss Jansons as inspirations to her.
On 23 August 1989, Braže along with her family, friends and fellow students, stood in the Baltic Way in protest against Soviet occupation. On the 30th anniversary of the event, she wrote in The Diplomat, where she described the atmosphere of the event as "electric" and said that they were "fearless and totally committed to their cause" as well as stating that they wanted to regain their "freedom and independence."
Braže began studying at the University of Latvia in 1985, where she earned a Master's degree from in law in 1990. She then studied political science at the University of Latvia from 1992 to 1993 and International Public Law at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands in 1993. In 1994, she studied Transnational Law and Legal Institutions in Salzburg and in 1995 she studied the International Protection of Human Rights at the Åbo Akademi University in Finland. She earned another Master's degree at the University of Latvia, studying Communication Science from 2000 to 2002.
In 2014, she was trained by the School of Public Administration and the European Institute of Public Administration in order to prepare for Latvia's presidency of the council of the EU. The same year, she took a Generals, Flag Officers and Ambassadors course at the NATO Defense College in Rome.
Diplomatic career (1993–2020)
Early career: 1993–2008 Braže joined the Latvian Foreign Ministry in August 1993, working as a Senior Desk Officer from 1993 to 1994. She was then a Senior Desk Officer of the International Political Organisations Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1995, and then from 1995 to 1996 she was Head of the Human Rights Policy Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She subsequently served as the First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Latvia to the United Nations in New York from 1996 to 1998.
Braže worked as a Counsellor of the Task Force for Preparation of EU Accession Negotiations in the Foreign Ministry, and as Foreign Affairs adviser to Prime Minister, Vilis Krištopans, from 1998 to 1999. She was then Director of the First Political Department from 1999 to 2003 in the Foreign Ministry. From July 2003 to August 2008, she served as the Latvian ambassador to the Netherlands and also the Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. She then served as an Ambassador at Large in the Third Political Directorate of the Foreign Ministry in 2008. After her husband became an Ambassador to various Asian countries, Braže left the Foreign Ministry and lived in Asia.
Return to the Foreign Ministry: 2011–2016 Braže returned to the Foreign Ministry in 2011, working as Directorate of Security Policy and International Organisations until 2016. She then served as the Non-resident Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Indonesia from 2015 to 2016, residing in Riga and becoming the first Latvian Ambassador to the country. On 3 February 2016, President Joko Widodo presented credentials to Braže in a ceremony in Jakarta, where she thanked Widodo for his assessment of good relations between the countries and said that they were formed from political dialogue, growing economic relations and cooperation in international organisations. She also worked as the Director General of the Communications Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from February to July 2016.
Ambassador to the UK: 2016–2020 On 24 August 2016, Braže became the Latvian Ambassador to the United Kingdom. On 22 July 2016, President, Raimonds Vējonis, presented credentials to her. In September 2016, Braže hosted a lunch of a Nordic group of Ambassadors where the rise in hate crime following the Brexit referendum was discussed, with Braže stating that their citizens "have not experienced anything like this before the referendum" and that there was maybe "an atmosphere" that was "more permitting of unpleasant words and maybe actions." On 14 November 2016, Braže attended the official opening of the Honorary Consulate of Latvia in Glasgow, which was attended by External Affairs Secretary, Fiona Hyslop as David Kaye became the first Honorary Consul of Latvia in Glasgow for almost 60 years. On 17 November, she presented her letters of credence to Queen Elizabeth II in an audience at Buckingham Palace, which was attended by her husband.
In April 2017, Braže celebrated the 98th anniversary of the statehood of Latvia in London where she addressed guests and reminded them of the Latvian support for the UK at the end of World War I and said "we hope that will never be necessary again." The event was attended by various dignitaries including MP Mark Prisk, Ambassador Peter Ammon and Ambassador Arkady Rzegocki. In July, Braže travelled to Northern Ireland where she met with Latvian Honorary Consul to Northern Ireland, Gerard O'Hare, and in an interview she described Brexit as "big news" because "nobody expected it." On 4 December 2017, Braže launched Latvia's centenary celebrations in the United Kingdom alongside Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Boris Johnson, by lighting a Christmas tree given by Latvia in Lancaster House. Whilst Johnson spoke about the relationship between Latvia and the UK, Braže highlighted the close historical ties and pointed to the well developed cooperation between the countries.
In July 2018, Braže made her first official visit to Guernsey where she met with representatives of the Latvian community and also fired the noon-day gun at Castle Cornet, as well as learning about the culture and heritage of the island. On 30 September 2018, in response to Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Jeremy Hunt, comparing the EU to the Soviet Union, Braže tweeted and rebuked the comparison. She said that Soviets "killed, deported, exiled and imprisoned" hundreds of thousands of Latvia's inhabitants and that the Soviets "ruined the lives of 3 generations", contrasting this to the EU which she said had "brought prosperity, equality, growth" and "respect." On 3 December 2018, Braže along with Hunt, lit the lights of a Latvian Christmas tree to mark the centenary celebration of Latvian independence, with Braže stating that the many ties between the two countries "will not change."
On 17 June 2019, Braže hosted a discussion alongside MP and Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Damian Collins, on digital interference in elections and democratic processes, which was also attended by the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission, Bob Posner.
She served in the position as the Latvian Ambassador to the United Kingdom until May 2020, and was succeeded by Ivita Burmistre.
Later career (2020–2024)
NATO Assistant Secretary General: 2020–2023
2020 On 29 January 2020, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs announced that Braže would leave her Ambassadorship to take up the position of NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, tweeting that he was "confident that her knowledge and experience" would be a "great asset for the whole Alliance." Braže herself said that she was looking forward to working for the "most successful defensive alliance" and was congratulated by various officials on her appointment, including by former President Egils Levits and Ambassador Māris Riekstiņš. Braže officially took up the position in May under Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, becoming the highest ranking Latvian official in organisation's history. In her role, she advised Secretary General Stoltenberg and oversaw the coordination of strategic communication activities across all NATO civilian, military bodies and commands, as well as directing the NATO Public Diplomacy Division.
On 29 May, she participated in a webinar along with Maroš Šefčovič, where she said that NATO had been working for many years to strengthen the resilience of its members and said that it was "clear that more work needs to be done" regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as emphasising that "we all need to work together." She also referred to countering disinformation as an area where more cooperation was needed, stating that NATO was in "close contact" with the EU on the issue. In July, she participated in the Belgrade NATO week, where she addressed the response of NATO to the pandemic and also its role against disinformation, stating that it was important for NATO to "show the facts."