From 1981 to 1984, he served in the Soviet army and then entered the Faculty of management and economic information of the Latvian State University.

In 1987, Kučinskis was invited to become the chief economist of the district housing and communal department of The Valmiera Board of People's Deputies.

[4] While on a break from political activity from November 2011, Kučinskis was an adviser to the Deputy Executive Director of The Association of greater Latvian cities (Latvijas Lielo Pilsētu asociācijā, LLPA).

At the early election of 2011 Kučinskis ran for the Union of Greens and Farmers alliance, but didn't win a place in Parliament.

On 13 January 2016 he was nominated by President Raimonds Vējonis to replace Laimdota Straujuma as the Prime Minister of Latvia following her resignation the previous December[6] and his cabinet was approved by the Saeima on 11 February.

In July 2017, he rejected American President Donald Trump's proposal that NATO raise its spending requirement to 4% of GDP.

[8] In March 2016, Kučinskis supported acquiescing to a demand by Turkey for €3 billion in exchange for keeping refugees from the Syrian Civil War, arguing that the payment would be more favorable than an "uncontrolled migrant flow" to Latvia.

[14] Despite losing the prime ministership, Kučinskis was re-elected to Saeima in the October 2018 election, and became the head of the National Security Committee on 21 November over the objections of the New Conservative Party.