Heiki Loot (born 28 April 1971 in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

) is an Estonian judge and former civil servant. From 2003 to 2018 he was the Secretary of State, the head of the Government Office. He resigned in 2018 and became a

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

judge, where he is a member of Administrative Law Chamber and Constitutional Review Chamber. Heiki Loot started his legal career in 1994 as the Assistant of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. From 1995 to 1998 he served as the Head of Public Law Department of the Ministry of Justice where he was responsible for legislative drafting and legal reform in constitutional and administrative law. He played a key role in writing the laws of the newly independent country and in establishing its institutions. From 1998 to 2003 he was rector of the

Estonian Public Service Academy Estonian Academy of Security Sciences ( et, Eesti Sisekaitseakadeemia) is a public vocational university in Estonia. It provides professional education for Estonian civil servants under the Estonian Ministry of the Interior. Its objective is to ...

where he carried out reforms to build up a modern university of applied sciences and a civil service training center. In 2003 Heiki Loot became the Secretary of State, the highest civil servant in the country. In this non-political position he served under seven Governments and four Prime Ministers. As the Secretary of State he was responsible for supporting the Government and the Prime Minister in policy making and implementation and for leading the Government Office. He had a key role in developing the Government Office into a fully functional centre of government with a mission to provide not only technical but primarily policy planning and coordination services to the Government. He was also responsible for coordination of preparations of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2017 and centennial celebrations of the Republic of Estonia. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

Priit Pikamäe Priit Pikamäe (born 22 November 1973) is an Estonian lawyer who has been the President of the Supreme Court of Estonia in 2013-2019 and now serves as an Advocate-General of the European Court of Justice. Early life and education Priit Pikamä ...

recommended him to Supreme Court because his "past experience allows him to make a significant contribution to the Supreme Court and the development of administrative law." As Secretary of State he oversaw the development of the Estonian digital services portfolio which is widely recognised as the world’s most advanced. He was awarded the

Order of the National Coat of Arms The Order of the National Coat of Arms ( et, Riigivapi teenetemärk, french: Ordre du Blason National) was instituted by Konstantin Päts on 7 October 1936 to commemorate 24 February 1918, the day on which Estonian independence was declared. The ...

, Third Class at the annual state decorations in February 2019. He is married and has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loot, Heiki Living people 1971 births 21st-century Estonian judges Estonian government officials University of Tartu alumni Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class People from Tallinn