Professor Aigars Pētersons Re-elected as RSU Rector

On Wednesday, 23 November, Rīga Stradiņš University's (RSU) current Rector, Professor Aigars Pētersons, was re-elected for a second term at a meeting of the RSU Constitutional Assembly with 118 votes in favour. 

This will be the first year that the elections were held according to the new procedures set out in the Law on Higher Education Institutions, which provides that the RSU Council organises the competition for the position of rector. Three candidates, including a candidate from abroad, took part in the open international competition, which lasted for several months. In the second round of the competition, the Council assessed two candidates in depth, and after a selection process, one candidate was put to the vote at the Constituent Assembly - the current Rector, Prof. Pētersons. His current term of office will end on 31 December this year.

A total of 119 members of the Constitutional Assembly attended the meeting on 23 November. The session was also open to the University’s staff and students, who were able to follow the elections in person or online. After the voting was explained and committee that would count the votes was elected, Reinis Bērziņš, Chair of the RSU Council and representative of the nomination committee, presented a report on the candidate selected by the Council. This was followed by a presentation by Prof. Pētersons' vision of RSU's strategic development in the next five years, as well as questions from delegates of the Constitutional Assembly - both local and international students, as well as faculty members. The candidate's extended vision of the University's strategic development had been made publicly available to everyone in advance.

The Constitutional Assembly consists of 130 representatives from the University, including academic and administrative staff, as well as students. To be elected, a candidate must obtain more than half of the votes of the members of the Constitutional Assembly.