Latvian Foreign Minister Announces He’s Gay: ‘Good Luck, All of You’ | Mediaite

In a single tweet, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs came out of the closet, endorsed pending legislation that would recognize same-sex marriage, and likely rankled his counterparts in Russia:

Rinkēvičs, who has served as the country’s foreign minister since 2011, is now the highest-profile gay man in Easter Europe, a region with deeply embedded conservative values. “Our country has to create a legal status for all kinds of partner relationships, and I will fight for this,” he added on Twitter (translated by the Washington Post). “I know that there will quickly be mega-hysteria, but #proudtobegay.”

The announcement is sure to cause tensions with neighboring anti-gay superpower Russia, which recently passed laws against informing people about homosexuality, and whose lawmakers proposed a ban against Apple CEO Tim Cook after he publicly came out as gay. Latvia, a former Soviet republic, shares a border with Russia, as well as a large Russian-speaking population.

[h/t BuzzFeed][Image via Wikimedia Commons]

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