Arnold Rüütel is an Estonian politician. He was the third President of Estonia from 8 October 2001 to 9 October 2006. Rüütel was the second president of the country after the end of the 1944–1991 Soviet occupation, and the restoration of the independent Republic of Estonia on 20 August 1991.
Edgar Savisaar was an Estonian politician, one of the founding members of Popular Front of Estonia and the Centre Party. He served as the acting Prime Minister of Estonia, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications, and twice mayor of Tallinn.
Toomas Hendrik Ilves is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016.
Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army.
Jüri Ratas is an Estonian politician who served as the prime minister of Estonia from 2016 to 2021 and as the leader of the Centre Party from 2016 to 2023, and the mayor of Tallinn from 2005 to 2007. Ratas was a member of the Centre Party until switching to Isamaa in 2024.
Isamaa is a Christian-democratic and national-conservative political party in Estonia.
Ragnar Klavan is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a defender for JK Tallinna Kalev. A left-footed centre back, he has also played as a left back during his career.
Aleksander Einseln was an Estonian general, the Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces from 1993 to 1995 and previously a United States Army colonel. Born in Estonia, his mother and he fled the Red Army, which was resuming its occupation of the country. From 1950 to 1985, he served in the US Army, taking part in the Korean War, and as a Special Forces A-team commander in the Vietnam War. In 1993, at the request of President Lennart Meri, he returned to Estonia to serve as the first Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces following the restoration of Estonia's independence.
Riho Terras is an Estonian politician and a former military officer who is serving as a member of the European Parliament since 1 February 2020. He was the Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces from 2011 to 2018. He was promoted to general in 2017.
Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Verona" written by Sven Lõhmus. The song was performed by Koit Toome, who had previously represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998 where he placed twelfth with the song "Mere lapsed", and Laura, who had previously represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 as part of the group Suntribe where she failed to qualify to the final with the song "Let's Get Loud". The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) organised the national final Eesti Laul 2017 in order to select the Estonian entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. The national final consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Ten songs competed in each semi-final and five from each semi-final as determined by a jury panel and public vote qualified to the final. In the final, the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a jury panel and a public vote selected the top three to qualify to the super final. In the super final, "Verona" performed by Koit Toome and Laura was selected as the winner entirely by a public vote.
Kersti Kaljulaid 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.
Jüri Ratas's cabinet was the 49th cabinet of Estonia, in office from 23 November 2016 to 29 April 2019. It was a centre-left coalition cabinet of Centre Party, Social Democratic Party and conservative Pro Patria and Res Publica Union. It was preceded by the Second Cabinet of Taavi Rõivas, a cabinet that ended when Social Democrats and the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica joined the opposition's no confidence vote against the cabinet. This was the first time since 1999 the liberal centre-right Reform Party were out of the government.
Martin Herem is an Estonian general and the current Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces since 2018.
Riho Ühtegi is an Estonian major general. He has been the Commander of the Estonian Special Operations Force. Since 2019, he is the commander of the Estonian Defence League.
Jüri Ratas's second cabinet was the 50th cabinet of Estonia, in office from 29 April 2019 to 14 January 2021. It was a centre-right coalition cabinet of the Centre Party, right-wing populist Conservative People's Party (EKRE) and conservative Isamaa.
An indirect election took place in Estonia on 30 and 31 August 2021 to elect the president of Estonia, who is the country's head of state. The Riigikogu — the Parliament of Estonia — elected Alar Karis to serve in the office and he was sworn in as the 6th president on 11 October 2021. The incumbent, Kersti Kaljulaid, was eligible to seek reelection to a second, and final, term but failed to gain the endorsement of at least 21 MPs, which is required in order for a candidate to register, as she was outspoken against some of the policies of the government, who thus denied her support.
Alar Karis is an Estonian molecular geneticist, developmental biologist, civil servant and politician who, since 11 October 2021, has served as the sixth president of Estonia.
Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with "Hope" performed by Stefan. The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) organised the national final Eesti Laul2022 in order to select the Estonian entry for the contest. The national final consisted of seven shows: four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and a final. Ten songs competed in each quarter-final and semi-final and five from each show as determined by a jury panel and public vote qualified to the final. In the final, the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a jury panel and a public vote selected the top three to qualify to the superfinal. In the superfinal, "Hope" performed by Stefan was selected as the winner entirely by a public vote.
Toomas Merila is an Estonian coach and former javelin thrower.
