As Edgars Rkēvičs be the first openly gay print Latvia’s history, here’s a glimpse at other openly gay heads of state om around the world.
Contents:
- LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE
- "THE PRIME MISTER AND HIS HBAND": GAY LEARS AROUND THE WORLD
- GAY WORLD LEARS ARE STILL EXTREMELY RARE
LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE
While openly lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr world lears are still a rary, there are a few who are breakg barriers. * gay world leaders *
To date, there have been five openly LGBTQ+ people who have served as a natnal head of ernment, Iceland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, and Serbia -- but gay, bisexual, lbian, and even transgenr lears have guid natns sce time immemorial. That he sat on the throne named Neferkare leads many scholars to believe the tale Kg Neferkare and General Sase, which scrib a gay relatnship between a pharaoh and his general, was fact about Pepi, though Egyptologists ntue to bate if the story was tth or fictn. The dictator of the cy of Athens 514, Hipparch had ma a sexual advance toward the openly gay Harmodi and was rejected multiple tim, acrdg to historian Thucydis.
The ler of England om 1087 to 1100, Kg William II was gay, acrdg to the wrer Eadmer, though effemate mannerisms and fashn choic seemed his primary evince.
The grand de of Tny om 1621 until 1670, Ferdando married and produced children, but also quarreled wh his mother, Maria Madla of Atria, about whether homosexualy should be outlawed. Likely Ameri's first gay print, Democrat Jam Buchanan won the electn of 1856 -- rallyg support om the slaveholdg stat the origal Southern Strategy.
"THE PRIME MISTER AND HIS HBAND": GAY LEARS AROUND THE WORLD
* gay world leaders *
In addn to beg the first openly gay prime mister of the island natn, the 38-year-old was the youngt head of ernment for the untry and the first member of an ethnic mory to hold the post (his father is an Indian immigrant). 1/11 Cred(Guillermo Gutierrez Carrasl/SOPA Imag/LightRocket/Getty Imag)View as articleJune 1 marked the start of Pri month, acknowledged by untri across the globe as a time to memorate the LGBTQ+ Pri month is wily celebrated, LGBTQ+ rights are still subject to bate much of the world, wh many untri divid over gay marriage, genr-affirmg re for transgenr mors and other legislatn affectg the LGBTQ+ muny. Lawmakers Latvia’s legislature elected Rkēvičs to serve as print wh 52 vot May, makg him the European Unn’s first openly gay head of 2014, Rkēvičs tweeted that Latvia “mt create a legal amework for all kds of partnerships, I will fight for , I know that there will be mega hysteria right away, but #Proudtobegay.
When she entered ernment as mister of public admistratn and lol ernment 2016, Brnabić told the Associated Prs, "Hopefully this will blow over three or four days, and then I won't be known as the gay mister. In the nservative untry, Serbia’s nstutn f marriage as a unn between a man and a woman and gay civil partnerships, such as the one Brnabić is wh her partner, are not officially regnized.
GAY WORLD LEARS ARE STILL EXTREMELY RARE
The photo of Luxembourg’s Xavier Bettel and Serbia’s Ana Brnabić marks one of the few meetgs between two openly gay world lears. * gay world leaders *
Addnally, same-sex upl are not allowed to adopt Febary 2019, Brnabić and her partner weled their first child via artificial sematn, acrdg to the Varadkar4/11 Cred(Peter Morrison/AP)View as articleLeo VaradkarCountry: IrelandPosn: Prime MisterTime Office: June 2017-PrentLeo Varadkar beme Ireland’s first openly gay prime mister when he took office 2017.
”Next:Xavier Bettel5/11 Cred(Geert Vann Wijngaert/AP)View as articleXavier BettelCountry: LuxembourgPosn: Prime MisterTime Office: December 2013-PrentXavier Bettel is the first openly gay prime mister of Luxembourg, a largely Roman Catholic natn.
Ronlli’s appotment, a untry where homosexualy was punishable by jail until 2004, ma him the first openly LGBTQ head of state the world.
LOOK: The World's Top 50 Openly Gay Bs Lears * gay world leaders *
”Next:El Di Rupo7/11 Cred(BRUNO FAHY/BELGA MAG/AFP/Getty Imag)View as articleEl Di RupoCountry: BelgiumPosn: Prime MisterTime Office: December 2011-2014El Di Rupo beme Belgium’s first openly gay lear when he took office as prime mister December 2011. Di Rupo opened up about this sexualy to reporters after beg acced of havg sex and abg unrage mal, somethg he stnchly Rupo told a bgrapher that 1996, as he was beg followed by journalists, one shouted at him “They say you’re a homosexual, ” to which Di Rupo rpond: "Y.
"In 2014, at the EU-Ai summ Bssels, Di Rupo addrsed Ain and European lears, urgg them to acknowledge and rpect the rights of mori, cludg gay men and women.
Saavedra, who also served the Spanish Senate and as mayor of Las Palmas, the pal cy of the Canary Islands, was the first openly-gay polician Spa. Saavedra did not talk about his sexualy until 2000, a year to his senate posn, when on a tour of Spa discsg a book on outg, he announced he was gay. Saavedra told El Mundo that Spa’s post-Fran society was still reprsive, “wh many homophobic habs” still the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party.
From the US’ Pete Buttigieg, to Germany’s Jens Spahn and Serbia’s Ana Brnabić, there are more openly gay and lbian policians senr ernments around the globe than ever before * gay world leaders *
Latvia swore the first openly gay print of a Baltic natn Rkēvičs, who sce 2011 was the untry’s foreign mister, was elected by Parliament May after Print Egils Levs did not seek re-electn. She is thought to be the first openly gay prime mister the was an active unnist her nearly 10 years workg as a flight attendant, acrdg to the Council of Women World Lears, a work of female heads of state.
This chart shows past and prent openly gay heads of state as of June 2017. * gay world leaders *
”Xavier Bettel Prime Mister of Luxembourg (2013-prent)Luxembourg Prime Mister Xavier Bettel at a news nference Belgra, Serbia, on July Vojovic / APBettel was first elected prime mister of Luxembourg 2013, and 2018 he beme the first openly gay prime mister the world to be re-elected for a send marriage beme legal Luxembourg 2015, and the same year Bettel beme the first servg European Unn lear to marry a same-sex partner, the BBC recently cricized a Hungarian law that bans school tnal materials and TV shows for people unr 18 that are emed to promote LGBTQ ntent, Rters reported. “To be natnally blamed, to be nsired as not normal, to be nsired as a danger for young people — ’s not realizg that beg gay is not a choice, ” Bettel said, acrdg to Rters. “Hopefully this will blow over three or four days, and then I won’t be known as the gay mister, ” she told The Associated Prs at the Varadkar Prime Mister of Ireland (2017-20, 2022-prent)Irish Prime Mister Leo Varadkar Bssels on June 30.
The term “transgenr” wasn’t monly ed Marsha’s lifetime, but she intified as a “transvte, ” gay and a drag queen and ed she/her pronouns. Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay policians elected to office the Uned Stat, and the first openly gay official elected California. “We want gays to reprent gays, ” Milk told the San Francis Examer 1977, and his posn as an LGBTQ public official helped brg the muny’s issu to promence.