Prime Minister of Estonia

Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia Eesti Vabariigi peaminister
Coat of Arms of Estonia
Incumbent Jüri Ratas since 23 November 2016
Member of	European Council
Residence	Stenbock House, Tallinn
Appointer	President of Estonia
Term length	General elections to the Riigikogu are held every four years at most. The Prime Minister is by convention the leader of the victorious party. No term limits are imposed on the office.
Inaugural holder	Konstantin Päts
Formation	24 February 1918
Salary	€5,288 monthly^[1]
Website	http://valitsus.ee/

Estonia

This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Estonia
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Presidency President Kersti Kaljulaid
Executive Prime Minister Jüri Ratas Government of Estonia Incumbent cabinet
Legislature Riigikogu Speaker: Henn Põlluaas
Judiciary Supreme Court Chancellor of Justice
Elections Political parties Recent elections Riigikogu: 2011 2015 2019 Presidential: 2006 2011 2016 Municipial: 2009 2013 2017 European: 2009 2014 2019
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The Prime Minister of Estonia (Estonian: peaminister, literally Main Minister or Head Minister) 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, he is usually the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition. The current Prime Minister is Jüri Ratas of the Centre Party. He took the office on 23 November 2016. On January 2021, he admitted his resignation following the Porto Franco scandal.

In his role as appointed by the President and laid forth in the Constitution, the Prime Minister serves as the head of government. He does not head any specific ministry, but is, in accordance with the constitution, the supervisor of the work of the government. The Prime Minister’s significance and role in the government and his 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 his own party. If the prime minister has a strong position within his party, and the government is made up solely of representatives of that party, he can enjoy considerable authority. In all crucial national questions, however, the final word rests with Riigikogu as the legislative power.

Unlike his 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

Estonia was governed by a Prime Minister during the first two years (1918–1920) of its independence after the collapse of the Russian Empire.

Under Estonia's 1920 constitution, the head of government was called the State Elder (riigivanem), who was also head of state. This system was a radically parliamentary system because the State Elder could be dismissed by the Parliament with a simple majority. Moreover, the State Elder was not the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, nor could he ratify laws or dissolve Parliament. The dissolution of Parliament was only possible through a referendum.^[2] Under a new constitution passed by plebiscite in 1933, the position of Prime Minister was recreated as head of government in 1934 in a more presidential system. Under this constitution, the President could appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister and Cabinet, veto laws, give decrees (statutes) and dissolve Parliament.^[3] The sitting State Elder, Konstantin Päts, appointed himself to the position of Prime Minister and in this position was then able to suspend elections for Elder of State and for the Estonian Parliament. He remained Prime Minister, declaring himself "President-Regent", until 1938, when elections were held under a new constitution and he was elected President.

1918–1920

Portrait	Name	Term of Office			Political Party	Cabinet	Riigikogu (Election)	Separate Head of State
Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Days	Political Party	Cabinet	Riigikogu (Election)	Separate Head of State
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 Prime Minister of the Provisional Government	12 November 1918	9 May 1919	179	Country People's Union (EMRL)	Päts I Provisional EMRL–ETE–EDE–ESDTP	Provincial Assembly (1917)	None
		12 November 1918	9 May 1919	179	Country People's Union (EMRL)	Päts III Provisional EMRL–ETE–EDE–ESDTP EMRL–ETE–EDE–ESDTP–SEE EMRL–ETE–EDE–ESDTP–SEE–VKK EMRL–ETE–ER–ESDTP–SEE–VKK EMRL–ETE–ER–ESRP–SEE–VKK	Provincial Assembly (1917)
	Otto August Strandman (1875–1941) 1st Prime Minister	9 May 1919	18 November 1919	194	Labour Party (ETE)	Strandman I ETE–ESDTP–ER	Constituent Assembly (1919)
	Jaan Tõnisson (1868–1941?) 2nd Prime Minister	18 November 1919	28 July 1920	254	People's Party (ER)	Tõnisson I ER–ETE–ESDTP
	Ado Birk (1883–1942) 3rd Prime Minister	28 July 1920	30 July 1920	3	People's Party (ER)	Birk ER–ETE–KRE
	Jaan Tõnisson (1868–1941?) 4th Prime Minister (2nd term)	30 July 1920	26 October 1920	89	People's Party (ER)	Tõnisson II ER
	Ants Piip (1884–1942) 5th Prime Minister	26 October 1920	20 December 1920	56	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
Portrait		Name	Took Office	Left Office	Days	Political Party	Cabinet	Riigikogu (Election)	Separate Head of State
The 1934 Constitution divided the office of State Elder between a new office called State Elder and a Prime Minister.
		Konstantin Päts 6th Prime Minister (in duties of the State Elder) (2nd term)	24 January 1934	3 September 1937	1,319	Farmers' Assemblies and Association of Settlers (PK/ARVK)	Päts V non-party coalition	V (1932)	Prime Minister in duties of the State Elder Konstantin Päts
			24 January 1934	3 September 1937	1,319	Fatherland Union (I) ^{[Note 1]}	Päts V non-party coalition	Parliament disbanded ^{[Note 2]}	Prime Minister in duties of the State Elder Konstantin Päts
	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
Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Days	Political Party	Cabinet	Riigikogu (Election)	Separate Head of State
The 1938 Constitution divided the office of President-Regent between a President and a Prime Minister.
	Kaarel Eenpalu (1888–1942) Acting Prime Minister	24 April 1938	9 May 1938	537	Fatherland Union (I)	Päts V non-party coalition ^{[Note 3]}	Parliament disbanded	President Konstantin Päts (1938-1940)
	7th Prime Minister	9 May 1938	12 October 1939	537	Fatherland Union (I)	Eenpalu II non-party coalition	VI (1938)
	Jüri Uluots (1890–1945) 8th Prime Minister	12 October 1939	21 June 1940	254	Fatherland Union (I)	Uluots non-party coalition	VI (1938)
1st Soviet Occupation
German Occupation
	Otto Tief (1889–1976) Acting Prime Minister	18 September 1944	25 September 1944	8	None	Tief non-party coalition	Parliament disbanded	Prime Minister in duties of the President Jüri Uluots
2nd Soviet Occupation (See Estonian Government in Exile)

1990–present

Portrait	Name	Term of Office			Political Party	Cabinet	Riigikogu (Election)	Separate Head of State
Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Days	Political Party	Cabinet	Riigikogu (Election)	Separate Head of State
2nd Soviet Occupation (See Estonian Government in Exile)
	Edgar Savisaar (1950– ) 1st Prime Minister of the Interim Government	3 April 1990 ^{[Note 4]}	29 January 1992	668	Popular Front (RR)	Savisaar Interim various coalition partners	Supreme Council (1990) ^{[Note 5]}	Chairman of the Supreme Council Arnold Rüütel
	Tiit Vähi (1947– ) 2nd Prime Minister of the Interim Government	29 January 1992	21 October 1992	266	None	Vähi Interim various coalition partners	Supreme Council (1990) ^{[Note 5]}	Chairman of the Supreme Council Arnold Rüütel
	Mart Laar (1960– ) 9th Prime Minister	21 October 1992	8 November 1994	749	Fatherland (I)	Laar I I–M–ERSP I–M–ERSP–L	VII (1992)	President Lennart Georg Meri (1991-2001)
	Andres Tarand (1940– ) 10th Prime Minister	8 November 1994	17 April 1995	161	Moderates (M)	Tarand M–I–ERSP–L–P	VII (1992)
	Tiit Vähi (1947– ) 11th Prime Minister (2nd term)	17 April 1995	17 March 1997	701	Coalition Party's and Country People's Alliance (KMÜ)	Vähi I KMÜ–K	VIII (1995)
	Tiit Vähi (1947– ) 11th Prime Minister (2nd term)	17 April 1995	17 March 1997	701	Coalition Party's and Country People's Alliance (KMÜ)	Vähi II KMÜ–ER KMÜ–AP
	Mart Siimann (1946– ) 12th Prime Minister	17 March 1997	25 March 1999	739	Coalition Party's and Country People's Alliance (KMÜ)	Siimann KMÜ–AP
	Mart Laar (1960– ) 13th Prime Minister (2nd term)	25 March 1999	28 January 2002	1,041	Pro Patria Union (IL)	Laar II IL–RM–RE	IX (1999)
	Mart Laar (1960– ) 13th Prime Minister (2nd term)	25 March 1999	28 January 2002	1,041	Pro Patria Union (IL)	Laar II IL–RM–RE		President Arnold Rüütel (2001-2006)
	Siim Kallas (1948– ) 14th Prime Minister	28 January 2002	10 April 2003	438	Reform Party (ER)	Kallas ER–K
	Juhan Parts (1966– ) 15th Prime Minister	10 April 2003	12 April 2005	735	Res Publica Party (RP)	Parts RP–ER–ERL	X (2003)
	Andrus Ansip (1956– ) 16th Prime Minister	12 April 2005	26 March 2014	3,271	Reform Party (ER)	Ansip I ER–K–ERL
						Ansip I ER–K–ERL		President Toomas Hendrik Ilves (2006-2016)
						Ansip II ER–IRL–SDE ER–IRL	XI (2007)
						Ansip III ER–IRL	XII (2011)
	Taavi Rõivas (1979– ) 17th Prime Minister	26 March 2014	23 November 2016	973	Reform Party (ER)	Rõivas I ER–SDE	XII (2011)
						Rõivas II ER–SDE–IRL	XIII (2015)
						Rõivas II ER–SDE–IRL		President Kersti Kaljulaid (2016-)
	Jüri Ratas (1978– ) 18th Prime Minister	23 November 2016	Still in office ^[4]	1512	Centre Party (K)	Ratas K–SDE–IRL
	Jüri Ratas (1978– ) 18th Prime Minister	23 November 2016	Still in office ^[4]	1512	Centre Party (K)	Ratas II K–EKRE–I	XIV (2019)

References

^ "Riigikogu liikmete ja teiste kõrgemate riigiteenijate palk ei muutu". Postimees. 15 March 2017.
^ (Seppo Zetterberg, "A History of Estonia" / Viron historia. 3rd edition. Helsinki: The Finnish Literary Society / Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 2007, pages 524–525)
^ (Zetterberg 2007, pages 558–559)
^ "The prime minister notified the president of the resignation of the government | Eesti Vabariigi Valitsus". www.valitsus.ee. Retrieved 13 January 2021.

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