On Wednesday, the 22nd of February, a ceremony for the change of the commander of Latvia’s National Guard was held at the Freedom Monument in Riga. Col. Kaspars Pudāns was put in this post, replacing Brig. Gen. Egils Leščinskis.
The ceremony was attended by Minister of Defence Ināra Mūrniece, Commander of Latvia’s National Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Leonīds Kalniņš, commanders of various units of Latvia’s National Armed Forces, commanders of units in the National Guard, as well as partners from Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Denmark, Poland and Georgia, as well as other invited guests.
Col. Pudāns has been serving in Latvia’s National Armed Forces since 1994.
Since 2018 he has served as the Commander of National Guard’s 1st Riga Brigade. He graduated from Latvia’s National Defence Academy, Baltic Defence College in Estonia, French Military Academy. The colonel also holds a Bachelor’s degree in law and Master’s degree in comprehensive quality management.
He has nearly 30 years of experience in serving in various ranks in the National Armed Forces: Infantry forces, National Guard, National Armed Forces Combined Headquarters. He gained international experience serving in the NATO-led international military operation in Afghanistan, as well as serving as military representative in NATO/EU representation in Brussels.
The Cabinet of Ministers voted in favour of Col. Kaspars Pudāns becoming the commander of the National Guard on Tuesday, the 21st of February. It is planned for Brig. Gen. Egils Leščinskis continue serving in the military as deputy chief of the Combined Headquarters.
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