The Estonian Centre Party is a left-centrist political party in Estonia. It was founded in 1991 as a direct successor of the Popular Front of Estonia,and it is currently led by Mihhail Kõlvart.
The Estonian Reform Party is a liberal political party in Estonia. The party has been led by Kaja Kallas since 2018. It is colloquially known as the "Squirrel Party",referencing its logo.
The Social Democratic Party is a centre-left political party in Estonia. It is currently led by Lauri Läänemets. The party was formerly known as the Moderate People's Party. The SDE has been a member of the Party of European Socialists since 16 May 2003 and was a member of the Socialist International from November 1990 to 2017. It is orientated towards the principles of social-democracy,and it supports Estonia's membership in the European Union. From April 2023,the party has been a junior coalition partner in the third Kallas government.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Estonia since 1 January 2024. The government elected in the March 2023 election,led by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and consisting of the Reform Party,the Social Democrats and Estonia 200,vowed to legalize same-sex marriage. Legislation to open marriage to same-sex couples was introduced to the Riigikogu in May 2023,and was approved in a final reading by 55 votes to 34 on 20 June. It was signed into law by President Alar Karis on 27 June,and took effect on 1 January 2024. Estonia was the first Baltic state,the twentieth country in Europe,and the 35th in the world to legalise same-sex marriage.
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.
Kristen Michal is an Estonian politician. A member of the Estonian Reform Party,he was the minister of economic affairs and infrastructure in Taavi Rõivas' cabinet between 9 April 2015 and 22 November 2016. Previously,Michal served as the minister of justice from 2011 to 2012.
Urmas Reinsalu is an Estonian politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2022 to 2023 and previously from 2019 to 2021. Before that,Urmas has served as the Minister of Defence between 2012 and 2014,and Minister of Justice from 2015 to 2019. Reinsalu is a member and current leader of the Isamaa ("Fatherland") political party,and was the party leader from 2012 to 2015.
Taavi Rõivas is an Estonian politician,former Prime Minister of Estonia from 2014 to 2016 and former leader of the Reform Party. Before his term as the Prime Minister,Rõivas was the Minister of Social Affairs from 2012 to 2014. On 9 November 2016 his second cabinet dissolved after coalition partners,Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica and Social Democratic Party,sided with the opposition in a no confidence motion. At the end of 2020,Rõivas announced quitting politics,and resigned from his parliament seat.
Taavi Rõivas's first cabinet was the cabinet of Estonia from March 26, 2014 to March 30, 2015. It was a coalition cabinet of free market liberal Estonian Reform Party and Social Democratic Party.
Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia on 1 March 2015. Advance voting was held between 19 and 25 February with a turnout of 33 percent. The Reform Party remained the largest in the Riigikogu,winning 30 of the 101 seats. Its leader,Taavi Rõivas,remained Prime Minister. The newly elected 101 members of the 13th Riigikogu assembled at Toompea Castle in Tallinn within ten days of the election. Two political newcomers,the Free Party and the Conservative People's Party (EKRE) crossed the threshold to enter the Riigikogu.
Kaja Kallas is an Estonian politician and the current prime minister of Estonia since 2021,the first woman to serve in the role. The leader of the Reform Party since 2018,she was a member of parliament (Riigikogu) in 2011–2014,and 2019–2021. Kallas was a member of the European Parliament in 2014–2018,representing the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. Before her election to Riigikogu,she was a lawyer specialising in European competition law.
Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia on 3 March 2019. The newly elected 101 members of the 14th Riigikogu assembled at Toompea Castle in Tallinn within ten days of the election. The Reform Party remained the largest party,gaining four seats for a total of 34 and the Conservative People's Party had the largest gain overall,increasing their seat count by 12 to a total of 19 seats.
Taavi Rõivas's second cabinet was the cabinet of Estonia,in office from 9 April 2015 to 23 November 2016. It was a Triple Alliance coalition cabinet of liberal centre-right Estonian Reform Party,Social Democratic Party and conservative Pro Patria and Res Publica Union.
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.
Rene Tammist is an Estonian politician representing the Social Democratic Party (SDE). He was sworn is as the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology in the cabinet of Jüri Ratas on 22 August 2018,succeeding Urve Palo,who resigned from the post.
An election for the Members of the European Parliament from Estonia as part of the 2024 European Parliament election will take place on June 9.
Kaja Kallas's first cabinet was the Cabinet of Estonia between 26 January 2021 and 14 July 2022. It was a grand coalition cabinet of the Reform Party and the Centre Party until 3 June 2022 when Kallas dismissed Centre Party ministers from government after several weeks of disputes between the two parties.
The second cabinet of Kaja Kallas,was the cabinet of Estonia from 18 July 2022 until 17 April 2023 when it was succeeded by the third Kallas cabinet following the 2023 election.
Triple Alliance is a commonly used political term in Estonia to refer to the various coalition governments between the centre-left Social Democratic Party,centre-right Reform Party and conservative Isamaa or their predecessors. This coalition has formed four times in history - from 1999 to 2002,from 2007 to 2009,from 2015 to 2016 and from 2022 to 2023. None of the coalitions governments have lasted a full parliamentary term. All of the Triple Alliance cabinets have been the second ones of the respective Prime Minister.
