Prime Minister of Estonia
| Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia | |
|---|---|
| Eesti Vabariigi peaminister | |
|
|
| Government of Estonia | |
| Style | Madam Prime Minister (informal) Her Excellency (diplomatic) |
| Type | Head of government |
| Member of | European Council |
| Residence | Stenbock House |
| Appointer | President |
| Term length | No term limit |
| Inaugural holder | Konstantin Päts |
| Formation | 24 February 1918 (1918-02-24) |
| Abolished | 1940–1991 |
| Salary | €5,288 monthly[1] |
| Website | http://valitsus.ee/ |
The prime minister of Estonia (Estonian: peaminister) is the head of government of the Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by the president after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions and confirmed by the Parliament. In case of disagreement, the Parliament can reject the president's nomination and choose their own candidate. In practice, since the prime minister must maintain the confidence of Parliament in order to remain in office, they are usually the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition. The current prime minister is Kaja Kallas of the Reform Party.[2] She took the office on 26 January 2021 following the resignation of Jüri Ratas.
In their role as appointed by the president, the prime minister does not head any specific ministry. Rather, in accordance with the constitution, they supervise of the work of the government. The prime minister's significance and role in the government and their relations with other ministries often depend on the position of the party led by the prime minister in vis-à-vis the coalition partners, and on how much influence the prime minister possesses within its own party. If the prime minister has a strong position within his/her party, and the government is made up solely of representatives of that party, the prime minister can enjoy considerable authority. In all crucial national questions, however, the final word rests with Riigikogu as the legislative power.
Unlike counterparts in other parliamentary republics, the prime minister is both de jure and de facto chief executive. This is because the Constitution explicitly vests executive power in the Government, of which the prime minister is the leader. In most other parliamentary republics, the president is at least nominal chief executive, while bound by convention to act on the cabinet's advice.
History
After Estonia's independence from the Russian Empire in 1918, the Provisional Government of Estonia was led by a Prime Minister until 1920. The 1920 Constitution set up a head of government whose position called the State Elder (riigivanem) and there was no separate head of state. This system was a radically parliamentary system because the State Elder could be dismissed by the Riigikogu with a simple majority. Moreover, the State Elder was not the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, nor could they ratify laws or dissolve the Riigikogu. The dissolution of Parliament was only possible through a referendum.[3] Under the 1934 Constitution passed by plebiscite, the position of Prime Minister was recreated as head of government in a more presidential system. Under this constitution, the head of state took the name State Elder (riigivanem) identical to the name for the 1920–1934 head of government. The newly established head of state could appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister and Cabinet, veto laws, give decrees (statutes) and dissolve the Riigikogu.[4] The incumbent Prime Minister in duties of the State Elder of Estonia Konstantin Päts, staged a coup d'état to counter the threat of the Vaps Movement and suspended the full implementation of the 1934 Constitution, not going ahead with elections for the new head of state and disbanding the Riigikogu. Päts remained the Prime Minister in duties of the State Elder and declared himself "President-regent" for 1937–1938. According to the 1938 Constitution, the position of the Prime Minister was retained, while the head of state was finally renamed the President under a presidential system. The 1992 Constitution after the Soviet occupation reinstated the 1938–1940 positions of Prime Minister and President under a parliamentary system.
1918–1920
| Portrait | Name | Term of Office | Political Party | Cabinet | Riigikogu (Election) |
Separate Head of State |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took Office | Left Office | Days | |||||||
| The executive order of the Provisional Government and the Council of Elders of the Provincial Assembly replaced the office of Chairman of the Council of Ministers. | |||||||||
| — |  |
Konstantin Päts (1874–1956) Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Provisional Government |
24 February 1918 | 12 November 1918 | 440 | Country People's Union (EMRL) |
Päts I Provisional EMRL–ETE–EDE–ESDTP |
Provisional Provincial Assembly (1917) |
None |
| Prime Minister of the Provisional Government |
12 November 1918 | 27 November 1918 | Päts II Provisional EMRL–ETE–EDE EMRL–ETE–EDE–ESDTP [Note 1] |
||||||
| 27 November 1918 | 9 May 1919 | Päts III Provisional EMRL–ETE–EDE–ESDTP EMRL–ETE–EDE–ESDTP–SEE EMRL–ETE–EDE–ESDTP–SEE–VKK EMRL–ETE–ERE–ESDTP–SEE–VKK [Note 2] |
|||||||
| 1 |  |
Otto August Strandman (1875–1941) 1st Prime Minister |
9 May 1919 | 18 November 1919 | 194 | Labour Party (ETE) |
Strandman I ETE–ESDTP–ERE ETE–ESDTP [Note 3] |
Constituent Assembly (1919) |
|
| 2 |  |
Jaan Tõnisson (1868–1941?) 2nd Prime Minister |
18 November 1919 | 28 July 1920 | 254 | People's Party (ERE) |
Tõnisson I ERE–ETE–ESDTP ERE–ETE–(ESDTP) [Note 4] |
||
| 3 |  |
Ado Birk (1883–1942) 3rd Prime Minister |
28 July 1920 | 30 July 1920 | 3 | People's Party (ERE) |
Birk ERE–ETE–KRE |
||
| 4 | |
Jaan Tõnisson (1868–1941?) 4th Prime Minister (2nd term) |
30 July 1920 | 26 October 1920 | 89 | People's Party (ERE) |
Tõnisson II ERE |
||
| 5 |  |
Ants Piip (1884–1942) 5th Prime Minister |
26 October 1920 | 20 December 1920 | 92 | Labour Party (ETE) |
Piip ETE |
||
| The 1920 Constitution replaced the office with State Elder. | |||||||||
1934–1937
| Portrait | Name | Term of Office | Political Party | Cabinet | Riigikogu (Election) |
Separate Head of State |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took Office | Left Office | Days | |||||||
| The 1934 Constitution divided the office of State Elder between a new office called State Elder and a Prime Minister. | |||||||||
| 6 | |
Konstantin Päts (1874–1956) 6th Prime Minister |
24 January 1934 | 3 September 1937 | 1,319 | Farmers' Assemblies (PK) [Note 5] |
Päts V non-party coalition [Note 6] |
V (1932) |
Prime Minister in duties of the State Elder Konstantin Päts |
| None [Note 7] |
Parliament suspended [Note 8] |
||||||||
| The Amendment Act of the 1938 Constitution temporarily merged the offices of State Elder and Prime Minister into President-Regent. | |||||||||
1938–1944
| Portrait | Name | Term of Office | Political Party | Cabinet | Riigikogu (Election) |
Separate Head of State |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took Office | Left Office | Days | |||||||
| The 1938 Constitution divided the office of President-Regent between a President and a Prime Minister. | |||||||||
| 7 |  |
Kaarel Eenpalu (formerly Karl August Einbund) (1888–1942) Acting Prime Minister |
24 April 1938 | 9 May 1938 | 537 | None [Note 7] |
Päts V (continued) non-party coalition [Note 6] |
Parliament disbanded [Note 9] |
President Konstantin Päts (1938–1940) |
| 7th Prime Minister (2nd term) |
9 May 1938 | 12 October 1939 | Eenpalu II non-party coalition [Note 10] |
VI (1938) |
|||||
| 8 |  |
Jüri Uluots (1890–1945) 8th Prime Minister |
12 October 1939 | 21 June 1940 [Note 11] |
254 | None [Note 7] |
Uluots non-party coalition |
||
| 1st Soviet Occupation (1940–1941) | |||||||||
| German Occupation (1941–1944) | |||||||||
| — |  |
Otto Tief (1889–1976) Acting Prime Minister |
18 September 1944 [Note 12] |
25 September 1944 [Note 13] |
8 | None | Tief non-party coalition |
Parliament disbanded |
Prime Minister in duties of the President Jüri Uluots [Note 14] |
| 2nd Soviet Occupation (See Estonian Government in Exile) |
|||||||||
1990–present
| Portrait | Name | Term of Office | Political Party | Cabinet | Riigikogu (Election) |
Separate Head of State |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took Office | Left Office | Days | |||||||
| 2nd Soviet Occupation (See Estonian Government in Exile) |
|||||||||
| — |  |
Edgar Savisaar (b. 1950) 1st Prime Minister of the Interim Government |
3 April 1990 [Note 15] |
29 January 1992 | 668 | Popular Front of Estonia (ERR) [Note 16] Estonian People's Centre Party (ERKE) |
Savisaar Interim various coalition partners |
Supreme Soviet (1990) [Note 17] |
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet |
| Chairman of the Supreme Council Arnold Rüütel [Note 17] |
|||||||||
| — |  |
Tiit Vähi (b. 1947) 2nd Prime Minister of the Interim Government |
29 January 1992 | 21 October 1992 | 266 | None | Vähi Interim various coalition partners |
||
| President Lennart Georg Meri (1992–2001) [Note 18] |
|||||||||
| 9 |  |
Mart Laar (b. 1960) 9th Prime Minister |
21 October 1992 | 8 November 1994 | 749 | Pro Patria (I) [Note 19] Pro Patria National Coalition Party (RKEI) |
Laar I I–M–ERSP |
VII (1992) |
|
| 10 |  |
Andres Tarand (b. 1940) 10th Prime Minister |
8 November 1994 | 17 April 1995 | 161 | Moderates (M) [Note 20] |
Tarand M–RKEI–ERSP–ELDP–VKRE [Note 20] |
||
| 11 | |
Tiit Vähi (b. 1947) 11th Prime Minister (2nd term) |
17 April 1995 | 6 November 1995 | 701 | Coalition Party and Country People's Alliance (KMÜ) |
Vähi I KMÜ–EKE |
VIII (1995) |
|
| 6 November 1995 | 17 March 1997 | Vähi II KMÜ–ERE KMÜ KMÜ–AP [Note 22] |
|||||||
| 12 |  |
Mart Siimann (b. 1946) 12th Prime Minister |
17 March 1997 | 25 March 1999 | 739 | Coalition Party and Country People's Alliance (KMÜ) |
Siimann KMÜ–AP |
||
| 13 | |
Mart Laar (b. 1960) 13th Prime Minister (2nd term) |
25 March 1999 | 28 January 2002 | 1,041 | Pro Patria Union (IL) |
Laar II IL–RM–ERE |
IX (1999) |
|
| President Arnold Rüütel (2001–2006) [Note 18] |
|||||||||
| 14 |  |
Siim Kallas (b. 1948) 14th Prime Minister |
28 January 2002 | 10 April 2003 | 438 | Reform Party (ERE) |
S. Kallas ERE–EKE |
||
| 15 |  |
Juhan Parts (b. 1966) 15th Prime Minister |
10 April 2003 | 12 April 2005 | 735 | Res Publica Party (RP) |
Parts RP–ERE–ERL |
X (2003) |
|
| 16 |  |
Andrus Ansip (b. 1956) 16th Prime Minister |
12 April 2005 | 5 April 2007 | 3,271 | Reform Party (ERE) |
Ansip I ERE–EKE–ERL |
||
| President Toomas Hendrik Ilves (2006–2016) [Note 18] |
|||||||||
| 5 April 2007 | 6 April 2011 | Ansip II ERE–IRL–SDE ERE–IRL [Note 23] |
XI (2007) |
||||||
| 6 April 2011 | 26 March 2014 | Ansip III ERE–IRL |
XII (2011) |
||||||
| 17 |  |
Taavi Rõivas (b. 1979) 17th Prime Minister |
26 March 2014 | 9 April 2015 | 973 | Reform Party (ERE) |
Rõivas I ERE–SDE |
||
| 9 April 2015 | 23 November 2016 | Rõivas II ERE–SDE–IRL |
XIII (2015) |
||||||
| President Kersti Kaljulaid (2016–2021) |
|||||||||
| 18 |  |
Jüri Ratas (b. 1978) 18th Prime Minister |
23 November 2016 | 29 April 2019 | 1525 | Centre Party (EKE) |
Ratas I EKE–SDE–IRL EKE–SDE–I [Note 24] |
||
| 29 April 2019 | 26 January 2021 | Ratas II EKE–EKRE–I |
XIV (2019) |
||||||
| 19 |  |
Kaja Kallas (b. 1977) 19th Prime Minister |
26 January 2021 | Incumbent | 358 | Reform Party (ERE) |
Kallas ERE–EKE |
||
| President Alar Karis (2021–) |
|||||||||
See also
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