Dr. oec. Kārlis Ketners is a Latvian economist and senior public finance expert who obtained his doctoral degree in economics at the age of 23 from Riga Technical University, following a master’s degree in engineering economics (magna cum laude). Since 2022, he has been a Corresponding Member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences in the field of economics.

Dr. Ketners has combined an extensive academic career with high-level public sector leadership. He has taught since 1997 at institutions including Riga Technical University and BA School of Business and Finance, delivering courses in public finance, taxation, tax planning, and economic policy. He previously served as Professor at Riga Technical University, where he also held roles as Vice Dean for Research, Member and Scientific Secretary of the Promotion Council, and contributed expert opinions to the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Latvia. From 2005 to 2022, he chaired State Examination Commissions in finance programs at BA School of Business and Finance. Since 2023, a partnership professor at Vytautas Magnus University, with an MBA "Customs process management".

His public administration career includes senior positions such as Director General of the State Revenue Service of Latvia (2003–2004), Director of the State Budget Department at the Ministry of Finance of Latvia (2004–2006), and State Secretary and Deputy State Secretary at the Ministry of Health of Latvia (2015–2017). Earlier, he held key roles in tax policy and administration within the Ministry of Finance system. He currently serves as Director of the Budget Policy Development Department at the Ministry of Finance of Latvia.

Dr. Ketners is an expert in social sciences at the Latvian Council for Science (economics, political science) and an active researcher indexed in Scopus (Author ID: 56120685700), with a substantial body of peer-reviewed publications, monographs, and contributions to international edited volumes on public finance, taxation, and fiscal law. His recent research (2022–2026) focuses on public-sector governance under complex conditions, integrating budget reform, spending review, and revenue administration with broader themes of state security, geopolitical risk, supply chains, and digital transformation. His work is characterised by a policy-oriented, interdisciplinary approach linking legal frameworks, administrative capacity, and system resilience in Latvia and the European Union.