Julija Stepanenko
{{Short description|Latvian politician and lawyer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Julija Stepaņenko
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Jūlija Stepaņenko October 2019 (cropped).jpg
| image_upright = 0.9
| office = Deputy of the Saeima
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1977|9|1|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Riga, Latvian SSR
| nationality =
| party = Honor to serve Riga (until 2020){{Cite web|url=https://www.apollo.lv/6906017/no-partijas-gods-kalpot-rigai-izstajusies-sesi-valdes-locekli|title=No partijas "Gods kalpot Rīgai" izstājušies seši valdes locekļi|work=LETA|language=lv|date=February 21, 2020|access-date=February 8, 2021}}
Law and Order (2021–2021)
Latvia First (2021–2022)
Sovereign Power (2022–)
| otherparty =
| spouse = Vjačeslavs Stepaņenko
| partner =
| relations =
| children = 4
| alma_mater = University of Latvia
| profession = Lawyer, politician
| committees = Legal Committee, European Affairs Committee and Sustainable Development Committee{{Cite web |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/politics/saeima/saeima-committee-members-elected.a300256/ |title=Saeima committee members elected |publisher=Public Broadcasting of Latvia |date=20 November 2018 |access-date=1 January 2019}}
| signature =
| website = [http://julijastepanenko.lv/en/ julijastepanenko.lv/en]
| footnotes =
}}
Julija Stepanenko ({{langx|ru|Юлия Степаненко|Julija Stepanenko}}, {{langx|lv|Jūlija Stepaņenko}}; born Julija Fedotova on 1 September 1977) is a Latvian politician and lawyer, serving as a deputy of the Saeima, the parliament of Latvia. Formerly a member of Honor to serve Riga and Law and Order, she is now a member of Sovereign Power, having left Law and Order in June 2021 and Latvia First at 2022.{{Cite web |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/politics/politics/maverick-saeima-deputies-marriage-of-convenience-proves-short-lived.a410993/ |title=Maverick Saeima deputies' marriage of convenience proves short-lived |publisher=Public Broadcasting of Latvia |date=30 June 2021 |access-date=22 July 2021}}
Political activity
Stepanenko firstly was elected to the Saeima in 2014. She served on the Saeima European Affairs Committee.{{Cite web |title=Saeima selects heads for committees; Čigāne now leads European Affairs Committee |publisher=Baltic News Network |accessdate=March 17, 2015 |date = November 10, 2014 |url = http://bnn-news.com/saeima-selects-heads-committees-cigane-leads-european-affairs-committee-121530}}
Stepanenko received more than 12,000 pluses and more than 90,000 votes at the 2018 Latvian parliamentary election and became one of the most supported representatives of the 13th Saeima.{{Cite web|date=2021-10-21|title=ElectionResult|url=https://sv2018.cvk.lv/pub/ElectionResults/CandidateList?id=ZTTi%2BonHCl%2BU6o9Y9odlVw%3D%3D&locationId=cWhUANL58dDrG1BuYgatEA%3D%3D|access-date=2021-12-08|website=sv2018.cvk.lv|publisher=Central Election Commission of Latvia}} On the first day of the sitting of the 13th Saeima Stepanenko announced she would be leaving the Harmony parliamentary fraction and working as an independent deputy, however, she stated that she would continue to work with the party in matters that do not conflict with her own values.{{Cite web |title=Harmony member of parliament breaks away from party |publisher=Public Broadcasting of Latvia |accessdate=January 1, 2019 |date = November 6, 2018 |url = https://eng.lsm.lv/article/politics/politics/harmony-member-of-parliament-breaks-away-from-party.a298684/}} Stepanenko started serving in the Legal, European Affairs and Sustainable Development committees.
In January 2021 she co-founded the right-wing populist Law and Order party and was chosen to co-lead the party alongside fellow MP Aldis Gobzems until she left the party on 30 June 2021, criticising Gobzems' offensive style of communication. In August 2021 she was among the co-founders of the Latvia First party, being chosen as the party's board chair as well as their candidate for President of Latvia.{{Cite web |url=https://bnn-news.com/latvian-ex-minister-of-transport-founds-a-new-political-party-and-gathers-allies-227372 |title=Latvian ex-Minister of Transport founds a new political party and gathers allies |publisher=Baltic News Network |date=16 August 2021 |access-date=16 August 2021}}
From 15 November 2021, Julija Stepanenko was one of the four Saeima deputies to be barred from parliament sittings by a special law prohibiting elected representatives without a COVID-19 certificate to take part in the discussion both in-person and remotely.{{Cite web |last=Līcīte |first=Madara |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/politics/saeima/four-mps-still-without-a-covid-19-certificate-in-latvia.a430293/ |title=Four MPs still without a Covid-19 certificate in Latvia |publisher=Public Broadcasting of Latvia |date=15 November 2021 |access-date=16 November 2021}} She believed that this decision of the parliamentary majority is deeply undemocratic and shows that under the banner of fighting against COVID-19 things have gone thoroughly astray.{{Cite web|date=2021-11-16|title=Latvian MP Julija Stepanenko: Removing Unvaccinated MPs from the Parliament is Deeply Undemocratic|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNzOGJT_PVc|access-date=2021-12-08|website=Objektiiv}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Jūlija Stepaņenko|Julija Stepanenko}}
- [http://julijastepanenko.lv/en/ Stepanenko's personal website]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stepanenko, Julija}}
Category:Politicians from Riga
Category:21st-century Latvian women politicians
Category:Honor to serve Riga politicians
Category:Deputies of the 12th Saeima
Category:Deputies of the 13th Saeima
Category:Women deputies of the Saeima
Category:Latvian people of Russian descent
Category:Latvia First politicians
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