Julija Stepaņenko
Deputy of the Saeima
Personal details
Born (1977-09-01) 1 September 1977
Riga, Latvian SSR
Political partyHonor to serve Riga (until 2020)[1]
Law and Order (2021–2021)
Latvia First (2021–2022)[2]
Sovereign Power (2022–)
SpouseVjačeslavs Stepaņenko
Children4
Residence(s)Riga, Latvia
Alma materUniversity of Latvia
ProfessionLawyer, politician
CommitteesLegal Committee, European Affairs Committee and Sustainable Development Committee[3]
Websitejulijastepanenko.lv/en

Julija Stepanenko (Russian: Юлия Степаненко, romanized: Julija Stepanenko, Latvian: Jūlija Stepaņenko; born Julija Fedotova on 1 September 1977) is a Latvian politician and lawyer, serving as a deputy of the Saeima, the parliament of Latvia. Formerly a member of Honor to serve Riga and Law and Order, she is now a member of Latvia First,[2] having left Law and Order in June 2021.[4]

Political activity

Stepanenko firstly was elected to the Saeima in 2014. She served on the Saeima European Affairs Committee.[5]

Stepanenko received more than 12,000 pluses and more than 90,000 votes at the 2018 Latvian parliamentary election and became one of the most supported representatives of the 13th Saeima.[6] On the first day of the sitting of the 13th Saeima Stepanenko announced she would be leaving the Harmony parliamentary fraction and working as an independent deputy, however, she stated that she would continue to work with the party in matters that do not conflict with her own values.[7] Stepanenko started serving in the Legal, European Affairs and Sustainable Development committees.[3]

In January 2021 she co-founded the right-wing populist Law and Order party and was chosen to co-lead the party alongside fellow MP Aldis Gobzems until she left the party on 30 June 2021, criticising Gobzems' offensive style of communication.[4] In August 2021 she was among the co-founders of the Latvia First party, being chosen as the party's board chair as well as their candidate for President of Latvia.[2]

From 15 November 2021, Julija Stepanenko was one of the four Saeima deputies to be barred from parliament sittings by a special law prohibiting elected representatives without a COVID-19 certificate to take part in the discussion both in-person and remotely.[8] She believed that this decision of the parliamentary majority is deeply undemocratic and shows that under the banner of fighting against COVID-19 things have gone thoroughly astray.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "No partijas "Gods kalpot Rīgai" izstājušies seši valdes locekļi". LETA (in Latvian). 21 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Latvian ex-Minister of Transport founds a new political party and gathers allies". Baltic News Network. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Saeima committee members elected". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Maverick Saeima deputies' marriage of convenience proves short-lived". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "Saeima selects heads for committees; Čigāne now leads European Affairs Committee". Baltic News Network. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "ElectionResult". sv2018.cvk.lv. Central Election Commission of Latvia. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  7. ↑ "Harmony member of parliament breaks away from party". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  8. ↑ Līcīte, Madara (15 November 2021). "Four MPs still without a Covid-19 certificate in Latvia". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  9. ↑ "Latvian MP Julija Stepanenko: Removing Unvaccinated MPs from the Parliament is Deeply Undemocratic". Objektiiv. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
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