Zane Gemze graduated from the Valmiera Viestura secondary school, then continued her studies at the Banking University in Riga and at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. Z.Gemze has additionally continued her studies in various courses in Latvia, Germany, Hungary, Canada and Greece. In addition to the ambitious courses, Zane studied entrepreneurship, business management, management of sports organizations, as well as studied security issues in courses organized by NATO.
Not only Zane’s educational experience is impressive, but also her work experience – Ministry of Defence, project and event management, business development consultation, lecturing at Alberta College and the University of Latvia. From 2007 to 2022, Zane Gemze was a member of the Board of Ltd. “Olympic Sports Centre”, where she made a significant mark in the history of the sports of Latvia, including founding an association “Swim Safely” alongside her duties on the Board of the Olympic Centre. These are just some of Zane’s important positions. Today, Zane is a Senior Adviser on Regional Policy and Regional Development at the Government President’s Office.
Zane’s dream has been to make every child in Latvia learn to swim, thereby reducing the sad statistics of drownings as much as possible. In order to achieve this goal, in January 2018, together with like-minded people, following initiative of Zane Gemze, and as a result of an impressive reconstruction, the most modern swimming training center was opened in the Olympic Sports Center, where children started to learn swimming from the age of six months, and adults were also thought of. The main goal of the association “Swim safely” was determined to promote public awareness of swimming as a life-saving skill and the importance of swimming in promoting health, developing physical fitness and strengthening immunity in society as a whole.
Zane Gemze has received several awards, including the IV class Viestura Order for her contribution to the organization of the 2006 Riga NATO Summit and the gratitude of the Olympic Committee of Latvia for founding the association and ensuring its successful operation in 2015. Zane believes that there is not only one path to success: “Success is about hard work, and it’s the work that drives the ship forward.” This is exactly the kind of women leaders that the sport sector and its governing bodies need – inspiring, creative, courageous.

Project “Equal Opportunities in Sports Management” funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.