President of Estonia

President of the Republic of Estonia
Eesti Vabariigi President
Presidential Standard
Incumbent
Alar Karis
since 11 October 2021
StyleMr President
(informal)
His Excellency
(diplomatic)
TypeHead of state
ResidencePresidential Palace, Tallinn
AppointerRiigikogu / Electoral College
(alternately until a candidate reaches the required majority)
Term length5 years, renewable once consecutively
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Estonia
Inaugural holderKonstantin Päts
Formation24 April 1938; 86 years ago (1938-04-24)
Abolished1940–1991
DeputySpeaker of the Riigikogu
Salary€6,661.77 monthly[1]
Websitepresident.ee
Presidential Standard at sea
Politics of Estonia
State
Presidency
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Elections
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations

The president of the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Vabariigi President) is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia.[2] The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid.[3]

Estonia is one of the few parliamentary republics in which the president is a ceremonial figurehead without even nominal executive powers. The president is obliged to suspend their membership in any political party for the term in office. Upon assuming office, the authority and duties of the president in all other elected or appointed offices terminate automatically. These measures should theoretically help the president to function in a more independent and impartial manner. The president holds office for five years. They may be elected any number of times, but not more than twice consecutively.

In Estonia, the president is elected by the Riigikogu;[4] a candidate must win a two-thirds supermajority to be elected. If no candidate achieves two-thirds support in the Riigikogu after three rounds of balloting, a special electoral body is convened comprising all members of the Riigikogu and elected representatives of all municipalities (at least one representative per each municipality, but not more than 10 representatives depending on the number of citizens with voting rights residing in the municipality). This body chooses between the two candidates with the largest percentage of votes.

While this election process has been criticised, the idea of direct elections does not have enough support in parliament, with only Estonian Centre Party and Conservative People's Party defending it.[5][4][6][7]

  1. ^ Mihhailov, Sergei (19 March 2021). "Tippametnike ja -poliitikute palk tõuseb aprillist umbes saja euro võrra" (in Estonian). ERR. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Institution of the president". Estonica.org. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Biography of the President". President.ee. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b YLE: Viron presidentinvaali on ajautumassa kaaokseen jo toista kertaa peräkkäin – "Instituutio kyntää pohjamudissa", sanoo politiikan tutkija (in Finnish)
  5. ^ Euronews: Why is no one stepping forward to be Estonia's next president?
  6. ^ YLE: Viron parlamentti kokoontui tänään valitsemaan presidenttiä – mutta miksi prosessi on niin sekava? Yle kokosi viisi kysymystä ja vastausta (in Finnish)
  7. ^ YLE: Presidentinvaalin ensimmäinen äänestys ei tuonut tulosta Virossa – Alar Karisin presidenttiys jäi viiden äänen päähän (in Finnish)