The Latvian parliamentary elections of 5 October 2002 saw a new political party capture a surprisingly strong majority, setting the stage for a new Prime Minister and government to lead the country's 2.5 million people.

But, says Romans Baumanis, PBN’s Vice President and Managing Director in Latvia, “while faces may change, the country’s policies and priorities are likely to stay the same.”

In this edition of Access PBN, Romans offers his insights into the “whos” and “whys” of the recent parliamentary elections and analyzes what the results may mean for both domestic businesses and foreign investors.

Romans is in charge of The PBN Company•Baltics, which oversees client services in Riga, Latvia; Tallinn, Estonia; and, Vilnius, Lithuania.

Romans came to PBN in March 2001, after more than 10 years in public service working in Latvia’s foreign service and government. His most recent assignment with the Latvian government was as Foreign Affairs Advisor to Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.

Email Romans: romans.baumanis@pbnco.com