Estonia: Government

Principal Government Officials

Chief of State: President Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Head of Government: Prime Minister Andrus Ansip

Estonia is a parliamentary democracy, with a 101-member parliament (the Riigikogu) and a president who is elected indirectly by parliament or, if no candidate wins a two-thirds majority in parliament, by an electoral college composed of members of parliament and of local councils’ representatives. Estonia holds presidential elections every five years. The last presidential election was in 2006. The President serves a maximum of two terms. The President is also the Supreme Commander of the National Defense of Estonia.

Parliamentary elections take place every four years; members are elected by proportional representation. The most recent elections took place on March 4, 2007. A party must gather at least 5% of the votes to take a seat in Parliament. Citizens 18 years of age or older may vote in parliamentary elections and be members of political parties. EU citizens who are 18 years of age or older and registered in the Population Register may vote in European Parliament elections and if they are registered in a local district population register, they may also vote in local elections. In addition, non-citizen long-term residents may vote in local elections, although they may not run for office.

After parliamentary elections, the President traditionally asks the party with the most votes to form a new government. The President chooses the Prime Minister--usually the leader of the largest party or coalition in the Parliament--with the consent of the parliament to supervise the work of the government. The Estonian government has a total of 12 ministers.

At the local level, Estonians elect government councils by proportional representation. The individual councils vary in size, but election laws stipulate minimum size requirements depending on the population of the municipality.

Estonia's Supreme Court, the Riigikohus, has 19 justices, all of whom receive lifetime tenure appointments. The parliament appoints the Chief Justice on nomination by the President.

Estonians may vote via the Internet in local, Estonian parliamentary elections, and European Parliament elections.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Currently, half a dozen parties represent Estonia's 1.3 million citizens. The Reform Party and the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union form the current majority government with 32 and 19 seats in parliament, respectively. Other parties in the parliament include the Center Party, the Greens, the Social Democratic Party, and the People's Union.

Reform Party Chairman Andrus Ansip is the current Prime Minister of the coalition government.

Toomas Hendrik llves is the President of Estonia. He was a member of the Social Democrat Party, a former Ambassador to the United States, two-time Minister of Foreign Affairs, a member of the Estonian parliament, and a former member of the European Parliament. President Ilves narrowly defeated incumbent Arnold Rüütel in an electoral-college vote in September 2006, and he took office on October 9, 2006.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Estonia is party to most major international organizations. It is a UN, EU, and NATO member and a strong ally and partner of the United States on all fronts. It is deeply committed to good transatlantic relations and to promoting democracy and free-market economic policy globally.

In the EU, Estonia's priorities include supporting continued EU enlargement; raising EU competitiveness through innovation; joining the Euro zone; developing a unified European energy policy; enhancing and fostering the European Neighborhood Policy; and improving the EU relationship with Russia.

Estonia has active development assistance programs in many of the former Soviet countries (with a focus on Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova), as well as in Afghanistan.

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