Reinis Uzulnieks #

Introduction #

Reinis Uzulnieks was Latvia’s welfare minister until September 13, 2026, when Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs dismissed him after police reportedly caught him driving with a blood alcohol level of more than 0.3% — some six times higher than the legal limit, according to the German Press Agency (dpa). The dismissal came one day after the 40-year-old politician was stopped by police in Ropazi municipality near Riga, and on the same day the leadership of his party, the Union of Greens and Farmers, decided at an extraordinary meeting to dismiss him as welfare minister and expel him from the party. Announcing the sacking on X, Kulbergs wrote that “A minister who drives under the influence of alcohol is completely irresponsible and a danger to society.”

Background Information #

Uzulnieks belonged to the Union of Greens and Farmers, a Latvian political party also known by the initials ZZS, and held the welfare portfolio in the government of Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs. He was 40 years old at the time of the police stop, according to dpa.

The case turned on Latvia’s legal threshold for drivers. The maximum permitted blood alcohol level for drivers with more than two years’ experience is 0.05%, according to the Latvian Automobile Association, as cited in the dpa report, while the Xinhua news agency dispatch carried by Namibia’s NAMPA put the limit at 0.5 per mille for most drivers in the country.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

Allegations. The dismissal was a documented employment action, not a criminal conviction, and none of the sources cited here reports any charge against Uzulnieks. The specific alcohol readings are attributed to Latvian media, chiefly the news agency LETA, and dpa noted that the circumstances of the stop were media reports that had “not been officially confirmed”. The prime minister’s criticism is on the record, posted by Kulbergs on X as reported by dpa.

According to the Latvian news agency LETA, as cited by Xinhua, police stopped Uzulnieks on Saturday night in Ropazi municipality near Riga. Two alcohol tests showed readings of 3.09 and nearly 3.5 per mille, far above the legal limit of 0.5 per mille for most drivers in Latvia, and Xinhua reported that he was detained by police on suspicion of drunk driving. dpa reported that the minister had been caught driving with a blood alcohol level of more than 0.3% — roughly six times the legal limit — while LETA reported a breath-alcohol reading equivalent to 0.309% and Latvian television reported a blood alcohol level of 0.35%. For context, dpa noted that a blood alcohol concentration of 0.4% is considered a potentially fatal level by most medical experts.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

The reaction from Latvia’s leadership was immediate. Prime Minister Kulbergs, who dismissed Uzulnieks on Sunday, September 13, 2026, posted on X that “A minister who drives under the influence of alcohol is completely irresponsible and a danger to society.” President Edgars Rinkēvičs also strongly condemned the incident, according to the dpa report. Earlier that day, the leadership of the Union of Greens and Farmers had decided at an extraordinary meeting to dismiss Uzulnieks as welfare minister and to expel him from the party, and the party said it would provide further information on Monday.

Current Status #

As of September 13, 2026, Uzulnieks was out of the cabinet, dismissed by Prime Minister Kulbergs, and expelled from the Union of Greens and Farmers, with the party promising further information the following Monday. Xinhua framed the police action as a detention on suspicion of drunk driving, while dpa stressed that the reported readings and stop details had not been officially confirmed; neither report described criminal charges or named a successor to the welfare portfolio.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

In the space of a single weekend, a sitting cabinet minister lost his portfolio, his party membership, and his political standing. The reported readings placed Uzulnieks far beyond Latvia’s legal limit and near levels medical experts describe as dangerous: the dpa report cited the Cleveland Clinic, which states that at a blood alcohol level of 0.3% “you’ll likely have alcohol poisoning, a potentially life-threatening condition, and experience loss of consciousness,” The episode produced the unusual spectacle of Latvia’s president, its prime minister, and the minister’s own party leadership publicly converging in condemnation within hours, leaving Uzulnieks — a member of the government on Friday — dismissed from office and expelled by his own party before the weekend was over.