At the meeting of the Scientific Council of the Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava" on 29 June 2021, Jurģis Jansons, Doctor of Forest Sciences, was unanimously elected as the Director of LVMI "Silava" by secret ballot.

Jurģis Jansons was born on 8 April 1973 in Riga and graduated from Riga Secondary School No. 64. In 1995, he qualified as a forestry engineer, and in 1997, he obtained a Master's degree in Forest Sciences for his work "Floristic composition and diversity of ground vegetation at the Vesetnieki forest ecological station following hydrotechnical land improvement in waterlogged forests". In 2010, he defended his doctoral thesis in Forest Sciences, "Regeneration of deciduous forests and timber resources".

He began his career in 1995 at the Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava" as a research assistant, working in collaboration with Pēteris Zālītis, Habilitated Doctor of Forest Sciences. From 1998 to 1999, he worked as the Head of the Forest Regeneration and Tending Sector at the State Forest Service, and from 2000 to 2004, he served as a forestry specialist in the central administration of the joint-stock company "Latvijas valsts meži". Since 2004, he has been the head of the national forest inventory in Latvia, and since 2006, he has been a researcher and lead researcher at LVMI Silava. Since February 2007, he has served as both the director and deputy director of LVMI Silava.

In accordance with the Law on Scientific Activity, the director of the institute exercises general management of the institution and represents the institute without special authorisation. The director's remit includes ensuring the administrative, organisational and material-technical operations of the research institute, as well as the implementation of decisions taken by the Scientific Council.

Jurģis Jansons is a member of the Latvian Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, an expert for the Latvian Council of Science, and a board member of the hunters' association "Bramaņi". Since July 2016, he has been the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of a/s "Latvijas valsts meži", and since September 2017, he has served as an adjunct professor in silviculture at the LLU Faculty of Forestry.

In 2015, he received the "Zelta čiekurs" (Golden Cone) award for his contribution to the forestry sector.