Politics of Estonia
A parliamentary republic was formed by the Estonian Constituent Assembly and the first Constitution of Estonia was adopted on 15 June 1920.
During the Era of Silence, political parties were banned and the parliament was not in session between 1934 and 1938 because the country was ruled by decree of Konstantin Päts, who was elected as the first President of Estonia in 1938.
In September 1944, after German forces left, legal power was briefly restored, as Otto Tief formed a new government in accordance with the 1938 constitution.
[1] On 1 January 2011, Estonia joined the eurozone and adopted the EU single currency as the first former Soviet Union state.
[4] In March 2014, after the resignation of Ansip, Taavi Rõivas of the Reform Party became new prime minister.
[7] In November 2016, the new chairman of the Centre Party Jüri Ratas became the new Prime Minister of Estonia.
He succeeded prime minister Rõivas whose government lost a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.
Her previous government had lost its parliamentary majority after the center-left Center Party left the coalition.
[14] In March 2023, the Reform party, led by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, won the parliamentary election, taking 31,4% of the vote.
[16] In July 2024, Kristen Michal became Estonia's new prime minister to succeed Kaja Kallas, who resigned as prime minister on July 15 to become the European Union's new High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
[17] According to the V-Dem Democracy indices Estonia was 2023 the 5th most electoral democratic country in the world.
Citizens who are at least 18 years of age and are not convicted of a criminal offence have the right to participate in the voting for the Parliament of Estonia.
It administers the circulation of currency, implements monetary policy, advises the Government and reports to the Parliament.
[19][27][28] The Chancellor of Justice (Estonian: Õiguskantsler) is a public official who is tasked with supervising the conformity of legislation with the Constitution of Estonia and laws, protecting fundamental rights, performing the functions of the Ombudsman for Children and solving discrimination disputes.
Anybody can turn to the Chancellor of Justice with issues of fundamental rights and freedoms or conformance of an act or legislation with the constitution or law.
If the legislation is not brought in conformity within 20 days, then the Chancellor of Justice can make a proposal to the Supreme Court to repeal it.
The Chancellor of Justice also regularly inspects places of detention to prevent and protect detainees of ill-treatment.
Residents of the municipality have the right to initiate passage, amendment or repeal of legislation of the local authority.
The political landscape is relatively stable, though fractured, and polarization on the left-right scale tends to be fairly weak.
Most of the polarization is centered on ethnicity, which is infused with conflict over Estonia's history and identity inherited from the Soviet Union.
Funding is reviewed by the political party funding supervision committee, which consists of members appointed for a term of five years by the Chancellor of Justice, Auditor General, National Electoral Committee and political parties represented in the parliament.
Members of the National Electoral Committee, which is established for a term of four years, are appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Chancellor of Justice, Auditor General, Chief Public Prosecutor, State Secretary and Board of Auditors.
The State Electoral Office is part of the Chancellery of the Riigikogu and its members are appointed by the Secretary General of the Parliament.
There has also traditionally been a general political consensus over keeping the budget in balance and holding a decent reserve.
One notable example of such a case was when Estonia decided to join the European Union, which required the amendment of the Constitution in order to ratify the Accession Treaty.
[44] Estonia's main foreign policy goals are to maintain national security and stability of international relations, ensuring the functioning of Estonian economy, protecting citizens abroad, maintaining good influence and reputation, and promoting democracy, human rights, rule of law and economic freedom.
To achieve these goals, Estonia has set its priorities on involvement and integration into the European Union and NATO, and forming strong relations with countries that share its values, especially its close Baltic and Nordic neighbours.
[47] Estonia's national defence is based on initial self-defence capability and membership in NATO.
Planning, development and organisation of national defence is coordinated by the Security Committee of the Government of the Republic.
In case of aggression against the Republic of Estonia, state of war can be declared by the president without a corresponding resolution from the parliament.
