November 7, 2014
Latvia's Foreign Minister Tweets That He's Gay
Bobby McGuire READ TIME: 1 MIN.
RIGA, Latvia -- Latvia's Foreign Minister has announced on Twitter that he's gay, becoming the first openly homosexual Cabinet member in the Baltic country.
Edgars Rinkevics late Thursday wrote a tweet in Latvian in support of legal recognition of gay partnerships with the hashtag "Proudtobegay." He followed up with another tweet in English saying "I proudly announce I'am gay... Good luck all of you..."
The latter was retweeted 1,200 times and favorited 1,700 times. Rinkevics' tweets normally get no more than 20 interactions.
The Foreign Ministry confirmed that the tweets were authentic.
As in much of Eastern Europe, gay partnerships aren't legal and are generally frowned on in Latvia.
