As a prime minister he was a member of the Latvian Waypolitical party. He then left politics and, in 2002, returned as a member of parliament from the Union of Greens and Farmers.[2]
Prior to being prime minister, he was the minister of transport.
^Sikk, Allan (22–23 January 2004), Successful new parties in the Baltic states: similar or different?(PDF), Paper prepared for the conference ‘The Baltic States: New Europe or Old?’, University of Glasgow, p. 7, Likewise, the New Era received backing from Latvian ex-president Guntis Ulmanis (himself being a member in the Farmers' Party) and former prime minister Vilis Krištopans of Latvia's Way party, who had become disappointed of his own party (who however joined the Green and Farmer's coalition later).{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)