Nine deputy state secretaries in various ministries received more than 100,000 euros each in remuneration last year, with a significant part of the payments consisting of various bonuses, cash rewards, performance premiums, and overtime pay, according to an investigation by the Latvian Public Media programme Kas notiek Latvijā?.
Data from the State Chancellery’s remuneration accounting system provided to the programme show that in 2024, 49 individuals held deputy state secretary positions—either for the full year or part of it—across all ministries. This position category is placed in the second highest salary group in the state institutions catalogue, where the minimum monthly base salary was 4,045 euros and the maximum 6,934 euros.
Deputy state secretaries’ total remuneration consisted of three components: salary and other types of remuneration at the ministry, as well as for some of them — positions on the boards or councils of state-owned companies, free ports, or special economic zones (SEZs). When analysing remuneration, payments from work in educational or scientific institutions were not included.
According to publicly available declarations of public officials at the State Revenue Service, the highest total remuneration among all deputy state secretaries last year was received by Līga Kļaviņa, Deputy State Secretary for Financial Policy at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) — 146,269 euros, including 113,353 euros at the ministry and 32,916 euros from the Development Finance Institution Altum.
She is followed by two MoF colleagues — Jolanta Plūme with 145,095 euros and now Ministry of Climate and Energy (MoCE) official Olga Bogdanova with 142,354 euros. Plūme also served on the board of State Real Estate, earning 26,300 euros there, while Bogdanova received additional income from serving on the AST (Augstsprieguma tīkls) board and almost 17,000 euros from the World Energy Council’s Latvian National Committee.
Two deputy state secretaries from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (MoEPRD) — Sandis Cakuls and Elita Turka — each received over 130,000 euros, including more than 35,000 euros from their positions at the Ventspils and Riga Freeport Authorities, respectively.
Another MoF deputy state secretary, Armands Eberhards, received over 128,000 euros, including more than 36,000 euros from the AST board.
Ilze Oša (MoEPRD) also received over 100,000 euros, including nearly 31,000 euros from the “Electronic Communications” board.
Also crossing the 100,000 euros mark were Ilmārs Šņucins (MoF) and Jānis Salmiņš (Ministry of Economics, MoE), the latter of whom also earned 17,000 euros as an adviser to the Minister of Education and Science.
Two deputy state secretaries from the Ministry of Health (MoH) — Boriss Kņigins and Aiga Balode, as well as Gatis Ozols (MoEPRD), received more than 90,000 euros each. Ozols also earned nearly 9,000 euros from “Electronic Communications.”
Meanwhile, Zane Vāgnere (Ministry of Culture) earned just under 52,000 euros, Kristīne Niedre-Lathere (Ministry of Education and Science) 57,000 euros, and Jānis Bekmanis (Ministry of the Interior) 59,000 euros. Seven other deputy state secretaries in various ministries received under 70,000 euros.
Among MoF officials, Plūme and Kļaviņa received 45,513 euros and 43,261 euros respectively in various bonuses, rewards, and other extra payments.
Over 30,000 euros was paid to Šņucins and Bogdanova, and over 20,000 euros to Kņigins, Eberhards, and three out of four MoE deputy state secretaries — Salmiņš, Edijs Šaicāns, and Ilze Beināre. The fourth, Raivis Bremšmits, received an extra 19,882 euros.
In total, all the additional payments made to deputy state secretaries last year — including bonuses, rewards, overtime pay, holiday allowances, and health insurance — amounted to 753,423 euros.
After the MoF with over €186,000, the MoEPRD followed with 96,000 euros and the MoE with 85,000 euros. Over 50,000 euros was paid in the MoH, Ministry of the Interior, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the lowest total was in the Ministry of Agriculture, just 14,000 euros.
The programme notes that the largest share, nearly 200,000 euros, was paid as bonuses for ensuring institutionally essential functions or achieving strategically important goals.
More than 100,000 euros was also paid in performance-based bonuses, cash rewards, and for performing additional duties outside the official job description.
Performance-based bonuses across all ministries totalled 125,084 euros. None were paid to one Defence Ministry (MoD) deputy secretary, nor to any in the Transport or Agriculture ministries.
Most performance bonuses were paid at the MoF (20,000 euros), followed by the MoEPRD (16,000 euros) and the MoE (14,000 euros).
Cash rewards totalled 130,352 euros, and were not received by one official each from MoD, Agriculture, Justice, and Economics, as well as none from the Transport Ministry.
Of the nearly 200,000 euros paid as “essential functions / strategic goals” bonuses, the absolute majority came from three ministries — MoF (85,000 euros), MoEPRD (46,000 euros), and MoE (40,000 euros).
Meanwhile, MoH, Transport, Climate and Energy, Culture, Education, Interior, and Foreign Affairs ministries did not pay such bonuses at all, and in the rest they amounted only to a few thousand euros.
Of the total 51,306 euros calculated for overtime, MoF deputies alone received more than 42,000 euros.
Four other ministries — Education, MoEPRD, Transport and Interior — also reported overtime, but only in Education did the total reach several thousand euros.
For performing additional duties, substituting colleagues, holiday allowances, health insurance, and diplomatic rank bonuses in the Foreign Service, ministries paid a combined 247,211 euros.
Almost all ministries paid the maximum 50% of base salary as holiday allowances, amounting to over 88,000 euros in total for all deputy state secretaries.
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