Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas steps down to become EU’s foreign policy chief
Kaja Kallas, who has led Estonia for three and a half years, officially resigned from her position as Prime Minister to take on a new role as the European Union’s foreign policy chief later this year.
As Estonia’s first female Prime Minister, Kallas, 47, submitted her resignation to President Alar Karis during a brief meeting at the Presidential Palace in Tallinn, the nation’s capital.
Under Kallas’s leadership, Estonia has emerged as one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The nation, with a population of 1.3 million, has consistently advocated for Ukraine on the international stage.
Tribute from President Alar Karis
In his tribute to Kallas, President Alar Karis highlighted the challenges and milestones of her tenure, stating, “It has been a time full of crises, milestones such as the coronavirus pandemic, the economic recession, and the war in Europe, where Russia’s aggression in Ukraine shattered our previous security landscape.”
Kallas’s last major duty was representing Estonia at a NATO summit in Washington last week. She will replace Spain’s Josep Borrell as the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, a role he has held since 2019.
Impact on Estonia’s Government
Kallas’s resignation has automatically triggered the resignation of her three-party cabinet, which includes her center-right Reform Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the liberal Estonia 200 party. The coalition will continue as a caretaker government until the new cabinet is sworn in, expected by the end of July or early August.
On June 29, the Reform Party announced Kristen Michal, a party veteran and current climate minister, as the candidate to replace Kallas as Prime Minister. Michal’s nomination requires approval from President Karis and the 101-seat parliament, known as the Riigikogu, where the coalition holds a comfortable majority.
Michal, 49, has been the minister for climate affairs since April of last year. His political career in the Reform Party, Estonia’s primary political force, dates back to the late 1990s, including previous roles as Minister of Economic Affairs and Minister of Justice.
