Kersti Kaljulaid

Kersti Kaljulaid (born 30 December 1969) is an Estonian politician who served as the fifth president of Estonia between 2016 and 2021, and was its first and only female head of state since the country declared independence in 1918.

She was also the youngest president, aged 46 at the time of her election.

In 1987, Kaljulaid graduated from Tallinn Secondary School no. 44.

During her studies there, she was a member of the Students' Scientific Association, specializing in ornithology.

In 1992, she graduated from University of Tartu cum laude as a biologist.

She is a member of Estonian female student corporation, Filiae Patriae.

From 1996 to 1997 Kaljulaid was a sales manager in state-owned telecom Eesti Telefon and from 1997 to 1998 a project manager in Hoiupanga Investeeringute AS.

From 1998 to 1999 she was employed in Hansabank's investment banking division Hansabank Markets.

From 1999 to 2002, Kaljulaid worked as the economic advisor of Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar.

In 2001, she graduated from the University of Tartu with an MBA in business management.

Her thesis was titled as "Riigi poolt asutatud sihtasutuste juhtimissüsteemi täiustamine" or "The improvement of the management system of state-founded foundations" in English.

From 2001 to 2004, Kaljulaid was a member of the political party Pro Patria Union, a predecessor of the current Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, yet did not run in the elections.

From 2002 to 2004, she was the director of Iru Power Plant, a subsidiary of the state-owned energy company Eesti Energia.

She was the first woman to lead a power plant in Estonia.

In 2004, when Estonia joined the European Union, Kaljulaid was appointed the country's representative at the European Court of Auditors.

Since 2011, Kaljulaid has been the chairperson of the board of the University of Tartu.

Kaljulaid has defined herself as a liberal conservative.

She has spoken in support of strong civil society with less state interference, whilst placing high importance on helping those in need.

She holds liberal views on social issues such as LGBT rights and immigration.

She has often published opinion pieces in Estonian media, considering the position of Estonia in the European Union and on social and economical matters.

Additionally, she has been a regular participant in political analysis programmes of Radio Kuku, e.g. "Keskpäevatund".

Kaljulaid, a state official who at the time served as Estonia's representative in the European Court of Auditors, entered the 2016 Estonian presidential election race in the sixth round after five previous unsuccessful rounds.

She was nominated on 30 September 2016 by the majority of parliamentary parties as a joint candidate for president, and the only official candidate for the sixth round.

Kaljulaid was voted president on 3 October 2016, with 81 votes and 17 abstentions.

As Kaljulaid's term as a member of the European Court of Auditors was due to end on 7 May 2016, she was confirmed as the next head of PRAXIS Center for Policy Studies in November 2015.

Although the Estonian government should have proposed her replacement in the court by 7 February 2016, it still had not managed to do so by the end of her term, so she remained in the position.

On 19 September 2016, the freshly founded Development Monitoring Advisory Board at the chancellery of Estonian Parliament voted Kaljulaid to be its chair.

After several failed attempts to elect a new president in August and September 2016, a so-called "council of elders" of the Riigikogu, comprising the speaker, vice-speakers, and leaders of most parliamentary parties, asked Kaljulaid if she would be willing to stand for president.

With her consent, the "council of elders" proposed her as the only potential presidential candidate to be put before the members of the Riigikogu on 3 October 2016.

Her candidacy was officially registered on 30 September.

Riigikogu Speaker Eiki Nestor said that Kaljulaid undoubtedly had the required 68 votes from the 101-member Riigikogu, but the exact number remained to be seen.

Ultimately her candidacy was supported by 90 Riigikogu MPs. She won the elections by 81 votes with 17 abstainers and no votes against her; the parliamentary party that had publicly declared not to support her was EKRE which had only 7 votes.

Under the Constitution, the president is a ceremonial figure without even nominal executive power; the Constitution explicitly vests executive power in the Government.

Nonetheless, Kaljulaid's election was seen as historic, as she was the first female head of state in the country's history.

The main objection raised repeatedly during her candidacy by media as well as politicians and street polls was her being relatively unknown, compared to the candidates that had participated in the campaign.

She confronted the objection in her public letter and during several interviews by promising to become visible across the country, visiting different areas and talking to the people directly.

In mid-October 2016, the first conducted survey showed Kaljulaid's approval rating at 73%.

In 2020, the Estonian government nominated Kaljulaid as its candidate to succeed Angel Gurría in the position of Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for a five-year term.

In January 2021, Kaljulaid announced that she had withdrawn her candidacy, citing consultations that led her to believe that accepting the position at the end of her first term as president amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Estonia would "not be the best solution."

She had just advanced to the second round of the interview process.