ESTONIA'S NEW GOVERNMENT (PART II): BIOS ON KEY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TALLINN 000233

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/NB AND INR/B

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: PGOV PREL EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIA'S NEW GOVERNMENT (PART II): BIOS ON KEY
OFFICIALS

Ref: A) TALLINN 223
B) TALLINN 143
C) 05 TALLINN 909
D) 06 TALLINN 1131


1. (U) Summary. On April 2, the Estonian Reform Party,
Isamaa and Res Publica Union (IRL),and the Social
Democratic Party (SDE) officially signed a coalition
agreement forming the new government. The three-party
coalition has 60 seats in the 101-member parliament (Ref
A). Prime Minister Andrus Ansip will continue to lead
the government. Other Reform Party returnees are
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Justice Minister Rein
Lang. There are several other familiar faces in key
positions in the cabinet including former Prime Minister
Juhan Parts (Minister of Economy),Ivari Padar (Minister
of Finance),and former Tartu University Rector Jaak
Aaviksoo (Defense Minister). The one new face is the
former head of the Security Police, Juri Pihl (Minister
of Internal Affairs),who has hitherto not been
politically active. End Summary.

BIOGRAPHIES OF KEY OFFICIALS
--------------

Andrus Ansip (Reform),Prime Minister:


2. (U) Andrus Ansip has served as Reform Party Chairman
since November 2004 and as PM since April 2005. He was
born in Tartu, Estonia's second largest city, in 1956.
He graduated from Tartu University with a degree in
chemistry in 1979 and later attended agronomy courses at
the Estonian Academy of Agriculture in 1989. Prior to
entering politics, Ansip was a highly successfully
entrepreneur, specializing in banking and investment
funds. Over the course of his business career, Ansip
served as CEO, Trustee, or Board Member of a number of
enterprises and investment funds. Although his
educational background is primarily in the sciences,
Ansip studied business management at York University in
Toronto, Canada (1992),and later participated in
British Council-sponsored training seminars in Brussels,
Dublin, and Edinburgh (2000).


3. (U) In 1998, Ansip entered politics and, as a Reform
candidate, was elected Mayor of Tartu. He was a popular
mayor and served for six years. In September 2004, he
stepped down as Mayor of Tartu and joined the Government
of Juhan Parts as Minister of Economic Affairs and
Communications. Shortly thereafter, in November 2004,
former Prime Minister Siim Kallas stepped down as Reform
Party Chairman and left Parliament to join the European
Commission. Ansip was elected to succeed Kallas. When
the Parts government fell in March 2005, then-President
Arnold Ruutel called on Ansip to establish a new
coalition. Ansip formed a new coalition with Reform,
Center, and People's Union on April 13, 2005. Most
pundits thought Ansip was a political lightweight and
predicted his government would only serve as a caretaker
government until the next parliamentary elections in

2007. However, Ansip proved to be a surprisingly
popular leader, and led his party to electoral success
this year (Ref B). Ansip personally received the
largest number of individual votes in Estonian history.


4. (SBU) During his tenure as PM, Ansip has grown in
political stature. He is a dynamic leader who has
consistently supported U.S. foreign policy priorities.
He is a committed trans-Atlanticist who believes in the
primacy of NATO's role in European security. Over the
last two years, Ansip has personally spoken out in
support of Estonia's mission in Iraq and Afghanistan,
often justifying Estonia's presence as repayment for the
assistance the country received after re-gaining
independence. Ansip demonstrated his commitment to
Estonia's participation in the Global War on Terror with
trips to Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2006 (Ref C &
D). Ansip is friendly, accessible and straightforward.
An avid cross-country skier, he speaks Estonian,
English, German, and Russian. He is married and has
three daughters.

Urmas Paet (Reform),Minister of Foreign Affairs:


5. (U) Urmas Paet has served as Minister of Foreign
Affairs since April 2005. He was born in Tallinn in
1974, and later graduated from Tartu University in 1996.
He also attended courses at Sweden's Lund University in

TALLINN 00000233 002 OF 004


Organization Management and at the University of Oslo in
International Relations. While still a student, Paet
worked at Estonian Radio as a foreign news editor from
1991 to 1994. He later moved to Postimees, Estonia's
paper of record, where he worked as a reporter and later
as senior editor/political reporter from 1994 to 1998.


6. (U) Paet entered politics in 1999 as a political
advisor in the Reform Party. His first public office
was as Mayor of Nomme, a suburb of Tallinn. He served
as mayor for four years before being elected to
Parliament with an impressive personal mandate in March

2003. Following the elections, Paet was appointed
Minister of Culture in Juhan Parts' government. When
Ansip became Prime Minister in 2005, Paet was chosen to
be Foreign Minister. He is a member of the Reform
Party's Board.


7. (SBU) Since his days as Mayor of Nomme, Paet's
popularity with the public and within the party has
continued to grow. Capitalizing on the visibility of
the Foreign Ministry, Paet has cemented his prominence
at the national level; he received the fifth highest
number of individual votes in the last elections. Paet
is not considered charismatic or outgoing, but is widely
acknowledged to be an articulate public speaker. Like
PM Ansip, Paet is staunchly pro-U.S., pro-NATO, and pro-
EU. He participated in an Embassy-sponsored tour of
NATO in 1998. He is widely respected in his party and
possesses a formidable power base of supporters in
Tallinn. In addition, Paet is also generally respected
in the MFA, where he is considered approachable by his
staff and delegates responsibility widely among the
MFA's principals. Paet speaks Estonian, Russian,
English, German and Finnish. He is married, and has two
daughters.

Juhan Parts (IRL),Minister of Economic Affairs and
Communications:


8. (U) Juhan Parts was Prime Minister of Estonia from
2003 to 2005. He was born in Tallinn in 1966 and
graduated from Tartu University with a law degree in

1991. Unlike many of his contemporaries, prior to
entering politics, Parts was a career civil servant. In
1992, he joined the newly re-established Ministry of
Justice (MOJ) shortly after graduating from university.
Despite his young age and lack of professional
experience, Parts was appointed the MOJ's Deputy
Secretary General in 1992. Over the next six years,

SIPDIS
Parts was one of the leaders of Estonian private law
reform and helped establish Estonia's court and legal
administration systems. In 1998, Parts was appointed
Auditor General, an office he used as a bully pulpit to
gain national recognition by attacking corruption and
calling for government reforms. Parts also worked to
infuse state administration with greater responsibility,
transparency and efficiency.


9. (SBU) In 2002, Parts joined the upstart center-right,
"protest" Res Publica Party and became its chairman.
(Note: Res Publica was created in 1989 and registered
as a political party in 2001. End Note.) In the 2003
elections, Res Publica changed the political landscape
in Estonia, winning 28 seats in Parliament and becoming
the largest center-right party. Parts formed a
coalition government in April 2003 but it floundered
quickly, beset by indecisiveness, internal divisions and
scandals. When the coalition collapsed in 2005, Parts
returned to Parliament. (Note: Under Estonian law, the
party can replace Members of Parliament with
substitutes. End Note.) Even though Parts' Government
is often derided for its scandals and collapse, it was
under his watch that Estonia achieved its primary
foreign policy goals: membership in both NATO and the
EU. Parts speaks Estonian, Russian, and English.
(Note: While his English is good, due to his reserved
character, it can appear halting. End Note.) Although
quiet, Parts is extremely bright with an eye for detail.
He is divorced and has a son and daughter. In 2005,
Parts participated in the International Visitors
Leadership Program (IVLP) on U.S. campaigns and
politics.

Jaak Aaviksoo (IRL),Minister of Defense:


10. (U) Like many others in the cabinet, Aaviksoo is a
native of Tartu (born in 1954). He is a trained

TALLINN 00000233 003 OF 004


physicist with a B.S. from Tartu University (1976) and a
Ph.D. from the Estonian Academy of Sciences (1981). He
has spent almost his entire career in academia and
research: Research Associate at the Physics Institute
of the Estonian Academy of Sciences (1976-1988);
Professor of Optics and Spectroscopy at Tartu University
(1992-2007); Academician at the Estonian Academy of
Sciences (1994-2007); First Vice-Rector of Tartu
University (1992-1995); and Rector of Tartu University
(1998-2007). Aaviksoo's only stint outside of academia
was as Minister of Culture and Education (1995-1996) and
Minister of Education (1996-1997) in Tiit Vahi's
Government. From 1981 to 1994, Aaviksoo traveled
extensively as a visiting professor/scholar to Russia,
Germany, France, and Japan. He is a member of the
Estonian Academy of Sciences and the Academic Council of
the President of Estonia. Aaviksoo is an accomplished
public speaker and a nationally known public
intellectual. Over the years, the Embassy has
maintained a positive relationship with Aaviksoo,
especially during his time as Rector of Tartu
University.


11. (SBU) Although he is a relative outsider to Estonian
politics, Aaviksoo is considered ambitious and
outspoken. At a party conference in late 2006, Aaviksoo
narrowly lost out to former Prime Minister Mart Laar to
be IRL's candidate for Prime Minister. Since Isamaa and
Res Publica's merger, Aaviksoo has balked at Laar and
other senior Isamaa members' tendency to impose their
hierarchical structure on the merged party. This has
created tension within IRL and has pit Aaviksoo against
old Res Publica comrades like Parts who support Laar.
In response to his actions, Aaviksoo has been given the
nickname "Tall Savisaar" within the party. (Note: This
is a reference to Tallinn Mayor and Center Party
Chairman Edgar Savisaar, who is known for his political
ruthlessness. End Note.)

Rein Lang (Reform),Minister of Justice


12. (U) Rein Lang has been Minister of Justice since
April 2005. Born in 1957 in Tartu, Lang lived in
Finland as a child during the time his father served at
the Soviet embassy in Helsinki. Lang graduated from
Tartu University in 1980 with a Law degree and later
worked as an attorney. During re-independence, Lang was
a legal consultant to Estonia's Constitutional Assembly
and helped draft the revised Estonian Constitution in

1991. Following re-independence, Lang founded Estonia's
first independent radio station in 1992. Over the next
several years, Lang built up his broadcasting business
and became a well-known political commentator on one of
Estonia's most popular talk-radio programs ("The Mid-day
Hour"). In 2001, Lang entered politics and served as
Deputy Mayor of Tallinn for three years. In 2003, he
was elected to Parliament and became Chair of the
Committee on EU Affairs. In 2005, Lang was briefly
Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Parts Government
before becoming Minister of Justice under Ansip. Lang
has been a Reform Party member since 1995.


13. (SBU) Lang is well known for his fondness for
Finland and strong support for Estonian-Finnish
relations. Lang is widely viewed as one of the previous
government's best ministers for his efficient leadership
of the MOJ. In his own party, Lang is held in high
esteem; he is often referred to as the "conscience of
the party." Over the years, he has been a good contact
for the Embassy. He has an open and accessible
personality and an ironic and dark sense humor. Lang
speaks Estonian, Finnish, English and Russian. Lang
participated in an Embassy-sponsored NATO tour in 2004
and a Volunteer Visitor Program (VolvVis) to the United
States in 2006 on combating terrorism. He is unmarried,
but has a daughter from a previous relationship.

Ivari Padar (SDE),Minister of Finance


14. (SBU) Ivari Padar has been the SDE Party Chairman
since 2002. He was born in 1965 in Voru County, in
southeastern Estonia. He completed his studies in 1995
at the University of Tartu, where he earned a degree in
history. After university, Padar worked as a
transportation worker, a carpenter, and a school
teacher. In 1993, Padar entered local politics and was
elected Deputy Mayor of Voru City. In 1994, he was
elected Chairman of the Voru County Farmers Union. In

TALLINN 00000233 004 OF 004


1995, Padar came to Tallinn to serve as Assistant to the
Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance. Padar

SIPDIS
served as Minister of Agriculture from 1999 to 2002,
during Mart Laar's second Government. In 2003, Padar
was elected to Parliament.


15. (SBU) Padar stands in stark contrast to his
predecessor, former SDE Chair and current President of
Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves. Whereas Ilves was an
intellectual and a politician of national stature,
Padar's more humble background has given him the aura of
being "one of the people". Padar has carefully
cultivated this persona in an attempt to broaden his
party's base of supporters. His leadership skills are
often characterized as diligent and simple by SDE
interlocutors. However, Padar has a reputation for
being open and ready to listen to alternate views and
opinions. Padar has proven to be a reliable Embassy
contact. He is married and has a son and daughter.
Padar speaks Estonian, Russian, and English. Padar
participated in an Embassy-sponsored NATO tour in 2004.

Juri Pihl (SDE),Minister of Internal Affairs:


16. (U) Juri Pihl's entire career has been in law
enforcement and national security. He was born in 1954
and has a law degree from Tartu University. He began
his career in the Interior Ministry of the Estonian
Soviet Socialist Republic (ESSR). After re-
independence, Pihl is credited with being the driving
force behind the creation of Estonia's Security Police
(KAPO, an independent agency responsible for national
security) in 1993. Pihl served as KAPO's first Director
General for ten years. In 2003, Pihl left the Security
Police to become a State Prosecutor. Since 2005, he has
served as Secretary General in the Ministry of Justice.
Pihl has been a good contact for the Embassy. In 2006,
he participated in a VolVis program to the United States
on combating terrorism.


17. (SBU) Over his long career, Pihl has carefully
avoided politics, earning him a reputation as a highly
professional civil servant respected across party lines.
As a result, SDE's decision to nominate him was
considered quite surprising among political pundits.
(Note. Pihl officially registered as a member of the SDE
only on April 2. End Note.) The press has dubbed Pihl
"the most informed man in the country" due to his long
career in the security/intelligence community. Pihl
speaks Estonian, Russian, and English. He has a grown
daughter from a previous marriage.

GOLDSTEIN