Filmmaker and politician Rihards Pīks dies

Rihards Pīks, a filmmaker who later served as Latvia’s culture and foreign minister, has died, his partner Sarmīte Pīka said on Facebook.

Pīks, who lived from 1941 to 2026, directed Riga Film Studio productions including “The Double” (1986), “A Shot in the Forest” (1983), “If It Were Not for This Girl...” (1980) and “The Blow” (1979). He also worked as a cinematographer on films including “My Friend Sokrates” (1984) and “Let It Be” (1976), among about 20 Riga Film Studio projects.

In the second half of the 1980s, Pīks joined the National Awakening movement. He entered politics in the 1990s, first through the Union of Greens and Farmers and later as a member of the People’s Party founded by Andris Šķēle. He had belonged to the party Latvia’s Development since 2014.

Pīks served in Latvia’s seventh and eighth parliaments. He was culture minister in Šķēle’s government from 1996 to 1997, then foreign minister in the government led by Indulis Emsis in 2004. From 2004 to 2009, he represented Latvia in the European Parliament. His partner described him as a husband, father and grandfather, as well as a person with an exceptionally rich biography spanning film and public life.

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Today, a person with an incredibly rich biography and a remarkable range of activities has completed his earthly journey: a cinematographer, film director, the first director elected by the film studio collective, culture minister, foreign minister, member of parliament and the European Parliament, and, in his family, a husband, father and grandfather.