Ieva Ilves

Ieva Ilves has over two decades of experience in public policy, specializing in foreign affairs, security, digital transformation, and cybersecurity within the Latvian Government. She has served as Advisor to the President of Latvia, Head of National Cybersecurity Policy at the Ministry of Defence of Latvia, Political Advisor to the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus in Azerbaijan, and Latvian Ministry of Defence Representative to NATO.

She chaired Latvia’s first national cybersecurity strategy and led the establishment of the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence in Riga.

Currently, Ieva advises Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, the cybersecurity company WithSecure, and leads a cybersecurity education program in Riga. Previously, she worked as an Advisor to the EU Advisory Mission in Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion.

She is the co-founder of the Women4Cyber Latvia chapter and the peer-learning educational initiative “StartSchool”. Additionally, she is the former First Lady of Estonia.

Ieva holds a Master of International Public Policy (MIPP) from Johns Hopkins University SAIS.