Urmas Reinsalu

Early life and education

Reinsalu was born in Tallinn, Estonia, on 22 June 1975. He graduated from the Tallinn Secondary School No. 37. He then studied law at the University of Tartu, graduating in 1997.

Political career

Early years

From 1996 to 1997, Reinsalu worked as a specialist in public law in the Estonian Ministry of Justice, and as an advisor to then Estonian President from 1996 to 1998. In 1998, Reinsalu was appointed Director of the Office of the President of Estonia, when Lennart Meri was in office. From 2001 to 2002, he worked as the political secretary of the Res Publica Party. From 2002 to 2003, Reinsalu was a lecturer in the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences.

From 2007 to 2013, Reinsalu was a member of the Riigikogu, the unicameral parliament of Estonia. On 28 January 2012, Reinsalu became the chairman of the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, an Estonian national-conservative, Christian-democratic political party, replacing Mart Laar. He was elected chairman with an absolute majority in the first round of voting at the party congress held in Tallinn.

Minister of Defence (2012-2015)

On 11 May 2012, Reinsalu was appointed minister of defence, replacing Mart Laar, who resigned from office for health reasons. Reinsalu's term as the minister of defence ended on 26 March 2014, when he was replaced by Sven Mikser. From 2014 to 2015, he was a member of the Riigikogu.

Minister of Justice (2015-2019)

In the 2015 parliamentary election, Reinsalu was re-elected to the Riigikogu with 2,949 individual votes. On 9 April 2015, Reinsalu became the minister of justice in Taavi Rõivas' second cabinet.

As the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union was the biggest loser in the elections with 9 seats lost, Reinsalu announced he would resign as party chairman after the party's congress in June 2015. On 6 June 2015, he was replaced by Margus Tsahkna in the post.

Minister of Foreign Affairs (2019-2021, 2022-2023)

Reinsalu was the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs from April 2019 until January 2021.

He returned to the foreign ministry in July 2022, after Prime Minister Kaja Kallas dismissed her Estonian Centre Party coalition partners.

On 31 March 2023 at a meeting of the Bucharest Nine Reinsalu called for the cancellation of the NATO-Russia Founding Act, because in his view cooperation with the country was "out of the question".

At the NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting on 4-5 April 2023 in an exclusive interview with the Kyiv Independent Reinsalu warned that a "false peace is prelude to new wars"; Reinsalu "think[s] it is very reasonable" if his country acted as a conduit for the Ukrainians to obtain F-16s.

Controversies

In 2012, Reinsalu was criticized for endorsing Estonia's "Valentine's Day Law" that declared Estonian WW2 veterans who fought on the side of Nazi Germany (including members of the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS) "freedom fighters", and for attending the meeting of the Union of Estonian Freedom Fighters (an organization of these veterans) on the island Saaremaa. During his visit, Reinsalu gave a laudatory speech to the veterans for having "liberated Estonia". Later on, in July 2013, he sent his greetings to the Union, praising the organization for "keeping the ideals of liberty alive".

In January 2014, Reinsalu also drew ire for lauding the Waffen SS veteran Harald Nugiseks, who was the recipient of Nazi Germany's highest military award Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, at his honorary burial.

Personal life

Reinsalu is married and has two children. He is fluent in English, German, Russian and Finnish.

Notes

Previously called the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union.

References

References

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11. (11 May 2012). "Prime Minister Ansip Makes Proposal to President to Appoint Urmas Reinsalu Minister of Defence". Government Communication Unit.
12. "Minister of Defence Sven Mikser". Government of Estonia.
13. "Riigikogu valimised 2015: Detailne hääletamistulemus". Vabariigi Valimiskomisjon.
14. (9 March 2015). "Reinsalu to resign as IRL chairman". ERR.
15. (24 June 2015). "Tsahkna named IRL chairman, pledges to unite party". ERR.
16. "Välisministrid läbi aegade | Välisministeerium".
17. (2022-06-03). "Estonian PM removes coalition partner from government".
18. (31 March 2023). "Estonian FM: It's time to annul the NATO-Russia Founding Act". Eesti Rahvusringhääling.
19. (8 April 2023). "Estonian minister warns 'false peace is prelude to new wars,' backs NATO membership for Ukraine". Yahoo.
20. (9 April 2023). "Estonia does not rule out buying F-16s, transferring them to Ukraine". Trend News Agency.
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22. Shafir, Michael. (December 2018). "The Nature of Postcommunist Antisemitism in East Central Europe: Ideology's Backdoor Return". Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism.
23. [https://defendinghistory.com/last-knights-cross-waffen-ss-veteran-buried-in-estonia/62614 Estonia’s Last “Knight’s Cross” Waffen SS Man Gets Full-Honors Military Funeral]