Māris Gailis (born 9 July 1951) is a Latvian businessman and former politician. He is the former Prime Minister of Latvia, an office he held from September 1994 to December 1995. In the government of the Prime Minister Valdis Birkavs, Gailis became a Minister of State Reform; in the government of the Prime Minister Andris Šķēle, he was the Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. As a member of the right-wing liberal political party Latvian Way, he was elected in the 5th Saeima and 6th Saeima. He led a round-the-globe expedition on the yacht Milda from 2001 to 2003. Education From 1967 to 1969 he studied at Riga Secondary School No. 1. Afterwards, he enrolled in Riga Polytechnical Institute, where he studied at the Faculty of Electric Energy from 1969 to 1971. Later, he transferred to the Faculty of Engineering and Mechanics and graduated in 1978 after achieving a degree in engineering sciences. He interrupted his studies from 1971 until 1973 due to service in the Soviet Army in Belarus, where he operated a tank squad. Work experience In 1973, Gailis started working as a senior equipment engineer in the Riga Furniture Factory Teika, which was part of the Ministry of Timber Processing Industry in the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. He worked there until 1979. From 1979 to 1983, he was Chief Power Engineer in the Ministry of Timber Processing Industry of the Latvian SSR; he then became Chief Work Technical Inspector in the Central Committee of the Wood, Paper and Timber Processing Industry Worker Trade Union from 1983 until 1985. From 1985 to 1987, he was the Head of the Video Section in the Latvian SSR State Cinematography Committee. He also Established the Riga Video Centre, where he was Director from 1987 to 1990. State administration Gailis began his government career in 1990. For the next two years, he was Director General of the External Economic Relations Department in the Latvian Council of Ministers. After these two years, Gailis moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he worked for seven months, until September 1992, as Deputy for Economic Issues for the then Minister of Foreign Affairs Jānis Jurkāns. Politics At the end of 1992, together with others who shared the same views, Gailis established the most influential right-wing liberal political party of that time, Latvian Way. In 1993, Gailis was elected as a member of parliament in