7 openly gay lears have served as heads of state. Latvian print Edgars Rkēvičs is the latt

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
• IRELAND'S FIRST GAY PRIME MISTER LEO VARADKAR FORMALLY ELECTED
• A PROCLAMATN ON LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR, AND QUEER PRI MONTH, 2021
• UK PRIME MISTER APOLOGIZ FOR TREATMENT OF GAY VETERANS, LLS LGBTQ+ SERVICE BAN AN 'APPALLG FAILURE'
• LUXEMBOURG'S GAY PM SAYS EVERYONE HAS A DUTY TO CHALLENGE HATE SPEECH
• FIRST OPENLY GAY MISTER TO BE ORDAED BY PRBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA) TOMORROW
• HOW HATRED OF GAY PEOPLE BEME A KEY PLANK HUNGARY’S THORARIAN TURN

LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE

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.

"THE PRIME MISTER AND HIS HBAND": GAY LEARS AROUND THE WORLD

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.

”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.

IRELAND'S FIRST GAY PRIME MISTER LEO VARADKAR FORMALLY ELECTED

“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. Leo Varadkar, (born January 18, 1979, Dubl, Ireland), Irish polician who beme lear of the Fe Gael party and Ireland’s first openly gay taoiseach (prime mister) June 2017.

The announcement me some four months before Irish voters approved legalizatn of same-sex marriage a natnal referendum, but had been only jt over two s sce homosexualy had been crimalized Ireland. When his nomatn was approved the Dáil by a vote of 57 to 50 (wh 45 abstentns) on June 14, Varadkar, at age 38, beme the youngt taoiseach Ireland’s history as well as s first openly gay taoiseach and the first to be a member of an ethnic mory.

”The apology me after an pennt review published Wednday timated that hundreds, if not thoands, of veterans were dismissed or suffered unr an official ban on homosexualy the U. “As today’s report mak clear, that perd many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment, all while bravely servg this untry, " Sunak told Parliament. Veterans' ttimoni “give shockg evince of a culture of homophobia, and of bullyg, blackmail and sexual asslts, abive vtigatns to sexual orientatn and sexual preference, disgraceful medil examatns, cludg nversn therapy, ” the report said.

A PROCLAMATN ON LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR, AND QUEER PRI MONTH, 2021

Olympic gold medallist Kelly Holm, who had served the Brish army and who me out as gay last year, said meant “a huge amount” to hear the ernment apology. “From a personal pot of view, the ban affected me terms of who I was and what I uldn’t be for 34 years, " Holm ban on homosexualy was abandoned 2000, when the European Court of Human Rights led favor of four service personnel who were vtigated and then discharged bee of their sexualy.

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.

UK PRIME MISTER APOLOGIZ FOR TREATMENT OF GAY VETERANS, LLS LGBTQ+ SERVICE BAN AN 'APPALLG FAILURE'

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. 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. ”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.

LUXEMBOURG'S GAY PM SAYS EVERYONE HAS A DUTY TO CHALLENGE HATE SPEECH

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. “As today’s report mak clear, that perd many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment, all while bravely servg this untry, ” Sunak told MP.

FIRST OPENLY GAY MISTER TO BE ORDAED BY PRBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA) TOMORROW

Promisg the ernment would implement the “vast majory” of Etherton’s remendatns, Wallace said he would fully update the Commons a formal bate about the issue after the about pensatn, Wallace said he hoped to fd “an elegant solutn that match the need and the requirements of those dividuals”, promisg to set this out after Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, was among mpaigners who weled the apology. Starmer said one of his nstuents, Ken Wright, a former RAF service member who was “forced to leave the job he loved simply bee he was gay”, was the public gallery to hear the apology.

“As today’s report mak clear, that perd many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment, all while bravely servg this untry, ” Sunak told Parliament. Veterans’ ttimoni “give shockg evince of a culture of homophobia, and of bullyg, blackmail and sexual asslts, abive vtigatns to sexual orientatn and sexual preference, disgraceful medil examatns, cludg nversn therapy, ” the report said.

HOW HATRED OF GAY PEOPLE BEME A KEY PLANK HUNGARY’S THORARIAN TURN

“From a personal pot of view, the ban affected me terms of who I was and what I uldn’t be for 34 years, ” Holm ban on homosexualy was abandoned 2000, when the European Court of Human Rights led favor of four service personnel who were vtigated and then discharged bee of their sexualy. 5 of the most powerful LGBT policians the world: om Joe Bin’s bet pick Pete Buttigieg, to Germany’s Jens Spahn and the gay prime misters of Serbia and Luxembourg. The prime misters of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, and of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, and New Zealand’s puty to Jacda Arrn, Grant Robertson, are all part of a wave of openly gay policians ernment Published: 10:25am, 22 Jan, 2021 Updated: 10:25am, 22 Jan, 2021 Openly gay ternatnal policians, om left: Ana Brnabić, Xavier Bettel, Jens Spahn, Pete Buttigieg, Grant Robertson.

Image source, Emma RileyImage ptn, Rad operator Emma Riley was discharged om the Navy for beg a lbian the 1990sRishi Sunak has apologised for the historil treatment of LGBT veterans who were sacked or forced out of the ary for beg gay.The PM lled the ban an "appallg failure" of the Brish state.It was illegal to be gay the Brish ary until 2000 - wh thoands of veterans thought to be affected.A report to their treatment remend they be given a fancial reward and that the PM publicly apologise.Addrsg MPs, the prime mister said: "Many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment all while bravely servg this untry."The LGBT Veterans Inpennt Review, led by Bra's first openly gay judge Lord Etherton, began last year and heard about the experienc of 1,145 veterans between 1967 to 2000.Homosexualy was crimalised the UK 1967 but a ban ntued the armed forc. Acrdg to the report, the Mistry of Defence said at the time that jtifitn for the policy clud "matenance of operatnal effectivens and efficiency" - but the report said there had been an "prehensible policy of homophobic bigotry" the armed forc.

It heard shockg acunts of homophobia, bullyg, blackmail, sexual asslts, "disgraceful" medil examatns, and nversn therapy.It mak 49 remendatns to the ernment cludg:Affected veterans to be given an "appropriate fancial reward" pped at £50m overallThe rtoratn of medals that had to be hand back on dismissal or dischargeThe clarifitn of pensn rights The prentatn of a special veterans' badgeThe ernment said would rpond full after summer recs.Some of the veterans affected watched the PM's public apology.One of them, Emma Riley, 51, was a Royal Navy rad operator for three years before she was arrted and discharged for beg a lbian after tellg a lleague her sexualy the early 1990s.She told BBC News she weled the report, and hoped would be put to place "swiftly.""Havg our history, experienc and enormo pa acknowledged and apologised for, hearg that the armed servic and ernment that perpetuated stutnal bullyg will now be held acuntable to fally support LBGT+ veterans, is a relief," she said.Veterans have prevly told the BBC how their liv were vastated by the ban. Carol Man, who was dismissed after tellg her boss she was gay 1978, kept her sexualy secret for another 30 years and said she had been "robbed" of her life.

Ken Wright, 62, served the Royal Air Force Police before losg his job when his boss found out he was gay.He scribed how losg his posn the ary had left him feelg as though "his untry didn't want him."He add: "After beg nied the opportuny to fend one's untry, beg told you aren't good enough to wear the uniform, tak huge ner strength to feel renciled all of a sudn today."Carryg that sult for 35 years srs you for life."Olympian Dame Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, lled the publitn of the report a "historic moment", while Cathere Dixon, a former army officer who is now vice chair at Stonewall, said was "an important step towards jtice" for those whose ary reers were "ed" bee of their sexualy.

Many still have a crimal rerd to this day.It also tails how some veterans faced a plete loss of e, while others were emed eligible to claim their pensn bee of their dismissal.The report more than 20 years after four servicemen and women, who were sacked for beg gay, won a se the European Court of Human Rights and overturned the ban.The armed forc chary Royal Brish Legn lled on the ernment to accept the report's remendatns full.The chary's director general Charl Byrne weled both the report and Mr Sunak's "landmark apology", sayg many people who had dited their liv to the untry were "forced or felt prsured to leave the armed forc, and this mistreatment stroyed or shortened their reer". She beme the first lear of any untry the Balkans to attend a gay pri march, sayg “For me, this is a way to make an active ntributn to alg wh stereotyp and prejudic.

As one would expect, most gay world lears have belonged to progrsive parti and pursued progrsive agendas, mirrorg the beliefs of the people that elected them.

The son of an Indian immigrant has ma Irish history by beg the untry’s youngt and first openly gay prime Varadkar, 38, was formally elected taoiseach at a nfirmatn ceremony the Dáil Dubl after he won the Fe Gael party learship earlier this month.

Pri is a time to rell the trials the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, and Queer (LGBTQ+) muny has endured and to rejoice the triumphs of trailblazg dividuals who have bravely fought — and ntue to fight — for full equaly.