Dainis Turlais was born on 24 November 1950 in Madona, Latvia. Between 1992 and 1994 he served as commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces. After retiring from service, he worked as a defense advisor for a short time. In 1995 he became minister of the interior, but was forced to resign in 1997. He has served as a member of parliament on-and-off between 2000 and 2009. In 2009 he was elected as member of the Riga City Council. In 2011 he, among others, participated in the founding of the Honour to Serve Riga party. In 2019, following the resignation of Nils Ushakov, he was elected Mayor of Riga.