On 22 September 2020, in an official ceremony in Riga Castle, the President of Latvia, Egils Levits, presented credentials to the next Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Latvia at the Permanent Mission to the Council of Europe, Jānis Kārkliņš.
Jānis Kārkliņš began his career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992 as Deputy Director of the Administrative Department. He has held the post of Under Secretary of State and served at the Latvian Embassies in Finland and France. Jānis Kārkliņš has been posted as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Latvia to France and the United Nations in Geneva, as well as non-resident Ambassador of Latvia to Monaco, Andorra, and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Jānis Kārkliņš has also been Head of the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence and Assistant Director-General for UNESCO’s Communications and Information Sector.
Ambassador Kārkliņš is succeeding Ivars Pundurs, who has been representing Latvia at the Council of Europe since 2016.