BG Juris Kiukucans, Marshall Center Graduate of the Month, November 2007
The Marshall Center is proud to name the Deputy Chief of the National Armed Forces of Latvia, Brigadier General Juris Kiukucans, as the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies Graduate of the Month for November 2007.
BG Kiukucans, who holds a degree in electrical engineering from Riga Polytechnic Institute, started his career in the newly independent Latvia in January 1992 as a company commander in the Latvian National Guard, soon rising to Battalion Chief of Staff and then Brigade G-3. He was a Major and G-3 Section Chief at the National Guard Headquarters when he was selected to attend the very first Marshall Center course in 1994, the 19-week 94-1 Executive Program. Upon completing EP 94-1—a class now famous for the number of graduates who went on to become ministers, ambassadors and general officers—Kiukucans transferred to the National Armed Forces and served for three years as Chief of Personnel Administration. In 1997, Kiukucans completed a course at Canada’s International Peacekeeping Training Centre and was then assigned to Latvia’s Military Representation at NATO Headquarters in Brussels during a key period in the Alliance’s history. In 2000, Kiukucans, now a full Colonel, was reassigned as Commander of the National Guard, where he served with distinction. During this assignment, in 2001, he earned a degree in National Resource Strategy at the US National Defense University. In 2004, Kiukucans was selected to serve as Chief of Staff of the National Armed Forces. Later in 2004, he was promoted to Brigadier General and, in 2006, promoted to Deputy Chief of the National Armed Forces.
We are extremely proud of the accomplishments of yet another Class of ‘94 graduate who has lived through, participated in and facilitated many of the remarkable accomplishments that Latvia has experienced during the last 13 years, from independence to membership in NATO and the EU, and it is a great honor for us at the Marshall Center to count this talented and exemplary man as one of our own.
Beginning with March 2007, the Marshall Center Graduate Support Office has featured a Marshall Center Graduate of the Month. The purpose of this initiative is to feature Marshall Center alumni who are playing an active role in furthering the ideals of the Marshall Center in creating a more stable security environment by advancing democratic institutions and relationships; promoting active, peaceful security cooperation; and enhancing enduring partnerships among the nations of North America, Europe, Eurasia, and beyond.
