Dr. Artis Pabriks is a politician, an academician, currently chairman of “Northern Europe Policy Centre” and CEO of Association of Military Technology, Drones, and Robotics. Until recently he served as a former Minister for Defence and Deputy Prime Minister of Latvia (2019-2022). Previously held positions as the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs (2004-2007), Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister of Latvia (2010-2014) and was a member of the European Parliament (2014-2018). Dr. Pabriks holds a degree in history and a Ph.D. in political science from Aarhus University Denmark. He was the founding rector of the Vidzeme University of Applied Science.