Ene Ergma (born 29 February 1944, in
Rakvere
Rakvere is a town in northern Estonia and the administrative centre of the Lääne-Viru ''maakond'' (county), 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. Rakvere is the 8th most populous urban area in Estonia. Rakvere has a tota ...
) is an
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
n
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
, a member of the
Riigikogu
The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Jus ...
(Estonian parliament), and
scientist
A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...
. She was a member of the political party
Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica
Isamaa is a Christian-democratic and national-conservative political party in Estonia.
It was founded on 4 June 2006 under the name of "Pro Patria and Res Publica Union", by the merger of two conservative parties, Pro Patria Union and Res Publi ...
and, before the two parties merged, a member of
Res Publica Party
Res Publica Party ( et, Erakond Res Publica) was a political party in Estonia that self-identified as conservative. Established as a party on 8 December 2001, the political organisation Res Publica was founded already as early as 1989 and exist ...
. On 1 June 2016, Ergma announced her resignation from the party, because the party had lost its identity and turned populist.
Education and scientific career
Ergma received her Diploma ''cum laude'' (BSc/MSc equivalent) in astronomy and PhD in physics and mathematics from Lomonosov
Moscow State University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
, and a DSc degree from Institute of Space Research, Moscow. Before entering politics she worked as a professor of
Astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
at
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
,
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
(since 1988). In 1994, she was elected to the
Estonian Academy of Sciences
Founded in 1938, the Estonian Academy of Sciences ( et, Eesti Teaduste Akadeemia) is Estonia's national academy of science in Tallinn. As with other national academies, it is an independent group of well-known scientists whose stated aim is to ...
. Most of her scientific research has been done on the evolution of the
compact objects (such as
white dwarfs
A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...
and
neutron stars
A neutron star is the collapsed core of a massive supergiant star, which had a total mass of between 10 and 25 solar masses, possibly more if the star was especially metal-rich. Except for black holes and some hypothetical objects (e.g. white ...
) and also
gamma ray burst
In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are immensely energetic explosions that have been observed in distant galaxies. They are the most energetic and luminous electromagnetic events since the Big Bang. Bursts can last from ten milli ...
s.
Political career
From March 2003 until March 2006, Ergma was
Speaker of the Riigikogu. From March 2006 to April 2007, she was the second Vice-President of the Riigikogu. On 2 April 2007 she was re-elected as
Speaker of the Riigikogu and kept the post until March 2014.
Ergma was the only candidate in the first round of the
2006 presidential election in the
Riigikogu
The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Jus ...
on 28 August 2006. She gathered 65 votes, 3 votes less than the at least 2/3 of the Riigikogu votes necessary for the election.
She also ran along
Volli Kalm and Birute Klaas for the presidency of University of Tartu, but was not elected.
She is the chairwoman of the Space Research Committee of the Riigikogu.
See also
*
List of Estonians
This is a list of notable Estonians.
Architects
* Andres Alver (born 1953)
*Dmitri Bruns (1929–2020)
* Karl Burman (1882–1965)
* Eugen Habermann (1884–1944)
*Georg Hellat (1870–1943)
*Otto Pius Hippius (1826–1883)
* Erich Jacoby (1885 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ergma, Ene
1944 births
Living people
People from Rakvere
Res Publica Party politicians
Isamaa politicians
Members of the Riigikogu, 2003–2007
Members of the Riigikogu, 2007–2011
Members of the Riigikogu, 2011–2015
Speakers of the Riigikogu
20th-century Estonian physicists
Members of the Estonian Academy of Sciences
Moscow State University alumni
Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 2nd Class
21st-century Estonian politicians
21st-century Estonian women politicians
20th-century women scientists
21st-century Estonian physicists
21st-century women scientists
Estonian women physicists
Estonian women scientists
Women members of the Riigikogu
Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class