On 13 July 2022, the President of Latvia, Egils Levits, presented credentials to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to Japan, Zigmārs Zilgalvis.
Zigmārs Zilgalvis began his diplomatic career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2004 at the International Organisations and Human Rights Department. He has also worked at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Latvia to the United Nations in New York, the European Union Co-ordination and Policies Department, as well as the Asia, Africa and Oceania Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has also been posted to the Embassy of Latvia in Russia, and he has served as Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of Latvia in the United Arab Emirates. Since 2020, he has headed the Foreign Trade and Foreign Economic Relations Promotion Department.
The Ambassador obtained his bachelor’s degree in law from the International University Audentes in Tallinn, Estonia. He has pursued his professional development at the Institute of International Public Law and International Relations in Greece, Åbo Akademi University in Finland, and the European External Action Service.
In this posting, Zigmārs Zilgalvis succeeds Dace Treija-Masī, who had been representing Latvia's interests in Japan since 2017.