Jaak Aaviksoo (born 11 January 1954) 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 ...

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 ...

and

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

, a former rector of the

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 ...

and Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech). Aaviksoo has been the Estonian

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

and Minister of Education and Research, he was a member of the

liberal conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by li ...

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 ...

. Jaak Aaviksoo is the first rector in Estonia who is also an

academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. In syst ...

Education and career in science

Aaviksoo was born in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

. After graduating from Tartu Secondary School No. 2 (present-day Miina Härma Gymnasium) in 1971, he entered the Tartu State University

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

department in the chemistry-physics faculty and graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' in the field of

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experim ...

in 1976. From 1976 to 1992 he was first junior, then senior and then leading scientist at the Physics Institute of 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 ...

(named ''Academy of Sciences of the Estonian SSR'' until 1988). There he also became a PhD in Physics (Thesis: "On Resonant Secondary Emission in Sodium Nitrite and Anthracene") in 1981. Aaviksoo was the first president of the Estonian Physical Society, founded in 1989. In 1992 he returned to

, this time as a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...

and

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

. In 1995 he was the acting director of the

Tartu University 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 ...

institute of

experimental physics Experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines in the field of physics that are concerned with the observation of physical phenomena and experiments. Methods vary from discipline to discipline, from simple experiments and ...

and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

and from 1992 to 1995 also the first vice-rector of University of Tartu. He became a member of the

and thus an

in 1994. From 1981 to 1994 Aaviksoo worked in many foreign institutes as a guest professor, namely the Novosibirsk Institute of Thermal Physics, the

Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research The Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (German: ''Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung'') was founded in 1969 and is one of the 82 Max Planck Institutes of the Max Planck Society. It is located on a campus in Stuttgart, togeth ...

in Stuttgart,

Osaka University , abbreviated as , is a public research university located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is one of Japan's former Imperial Universities and a Designated National University listed as a "Top Type" university in the Top Global University Project. ...

and University of Paris VII: Denis Diderot.

Politician and rector of University of Tartu and TalTech

From November 1995 to January 1996 Jaak Aaviksoo was Minister of Culture and Education and from then to November 1997 he was the

Estonian Minister of Education The Minister of Education and Research is the senior minister at the Ministry of Education and Research ('' Estonian: Eesti Vabariigi Haridus- ja Teadusministeerium'') in the Estonian Government. The Minister is responsible for administration a ...

in the governments of

Tiit Vähi Tiit Vähi (born 10 January 1947) is an Estonian politician who was Prime Minister of Estonia from 1995 to 1997. He was also acting Prime Minister for several months during 1992 under the transitional government. Life and career Born in Kaagjä ...

. In 1998 he became the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

. He was re-elected for another five-year term as a rector in 2003. In 2006 Jaak Aaviksoo announced that he would be leaving the post of rector of

to run for a seat in the Estonian parliament

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 Just ...

in the

2007 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2007. * Electoral calendar 2007 * Elections in 2007 * 2007 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 52nd National Conference of the African National Congress * 2007 Algerian legislative el ...

as a member of

. Before joining the party and leaving his post as rector, Aaviksoo was considered as a candidate for the presidential elections in 2006, which were won by

Toomas Hendrik Ilves Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016. Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the ...

. After already having joined Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica, Aaviksoo sought to become the party's leader for the 2007 parliamentary elections and so candidate for

Prime Minister of Estonia The Prime Minister of Estonia ( Estonian: ''peaminister'') is the head of government of the Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by the president after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions and confirmed by ...

, but lost a closely contested duel within the party to internationally renowned two-time former Prime Minister

Mart Laar Mart Laar (born 22 April 1960) is an Estonian politician and historian. He served as the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1992 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2002. Laar is credited with having helped bring about Estonia's rapid economic development dur ...

. In the elections he gained 4241 votes in his district and was elected to

. He became the

in Andrus Ansip's second government. Having assumed office on 5 April 2007, his first primary goals as

were restructuring the power management of the

Estonian Defense Forces The Estonian Defence Forces ( et, Eesti Kaitsevägi) are the unified military forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consist of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary Es ...

and dealing with the situation of the

Bronze Soldier of Tallinn The Bronze Soldier ( et, Pronkssõdur, russian: Бронзовый солдат, ''Bronzovyj soldat'') is the informal name of a controversial Soviet World War II war memorial in Tallinn, Estonia, built at the site of several war graves, whi ...

, a Soviet war monument, which was moved to a cemetery, causing much controversy and ethnic tension between a large proportion Estonians and local Russians. He also saw the Estonian youth's weak will of defending their country as a serious problem. In 2011 he was re-elected to parliament and he became the Minister of Education and Research in Andrus Ansip's third government. As the Minister he strongly supported school reform and separating primary schools from gymnasiums. In March 2015 he gained 1405 votes at the parliament elections and became a member in Riigikogu. In the summer of 2015 he ran for the position of the rector of Tallinn University of Technology. Since September 2015 Jaak Aaviksoo is the rector of Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech).

Personal life

Aaviksoo is married to

Tiina Kaalep Tiina Kaalep (born February 6, 1964) is an Estonian journalist, broadcast, and media manager. Born in Vana-Vigala, since 1987 she has worked as a reporter at ''Eesti Raadio'', and works as a broadcaster for '' Raadio Tallinn''. She has also w ...

. He is a father of three, a grandfather of seven and a great grandfather of one. He speaks fluent English, German, Russian and French on an average level.

Works

Aaviksoo has publicized over 100 scientific articles and over 80 publicistic articles from 1976 to 2002. His more important publifications from the past decade are:Biography on the official website of the Estonian Ministry of Defense
*J. Aaviksoo, C. Gourdon, R. Grousson, P. Lavallard, "Photoluminescence quantum yield in GaAs/AlAs superlattices", Solid State Electronics (vol. 40, no 1–8, p. 687, 1996) *J. Aaviksoo, C. Gourdon, P. Lavallard, "Power nonlinearities in the luminescence spectrum of GaAs/AlAs superlattices", Solid State Communications (vol. 99, no 6, p. 387, 1996) *S. O. Kognovitskii, V. V. Travnikov, J. Aaviksoo, I. Reimand, "Light Scattering by electrons in the absorption region of GaAs" – Phys. Solid State (vol. 39, no. 6, p. 907, 1997) *I. Reimand, J. Aaviksoo, "Exciton interaction with hot electrons in GaAs", Technical digest of X International Conference on Ultrafast Phenomena in Spectroscopy, (Tartu, 1997, p. 82) *J. Aaviksoo, "Estonian physicist: Active and productive", Science (vol. 275, no 5299, p. 463) *J. Aaviksoo. Priorities for Higher Education in Central and Eastern European Countries. – Higher Education Management (vol. 9, no. 2, p. 19, 1997). *I. Reimand, J. Aaviksoo, "Exciton interaction with hot electrons in GaAs", Phys. Rev. B 61, 2000, no 24, p 16653-16658 * J.Aaviksoo, J.Kuhl, K.Ploog, Observation of optical precursors at pulse propagation in GaAs. – Phys. Rev. A, 44, 25353–25356, 1991. * I.Reimand, J.Aaviksoo, Surface polarization dynamics revealed by time-resolved resonant reflection of light. – Opt. Commun., 86(2) 142–146, 1991. * J.Aaviksoo, I.Reimand, V.V.Rossin, V.V.Travnikov, Quenching of exciton luminescence by hot electrons in GaAs. – Fiz. Tverd. Tela, 33(8) 2408–2412, 1991. (in Russian). * J.Aaviksoo, I.Reimand, V.V.Rossin, V.V.Travnikov, Kinetics of free exciton luminescence in GaAs. – Phys. Rev. B, 45(3) 1473–1476, 1992. * T.Reinot, J.Aaviksoo, Propagation of polariton luminescence pulses in anthracene. – J. Lumin., 50(2) 259–264, 1991. * J.Aaviksoo, T.Reinot, Ballistic propagation of luminescence pulses in anthracene crystal flakes. – J. Mol. Cryst. Liquid Cryst., 217, 147–151, 1992. * J.Aaviksoo, I.Reimand, V.Rossin, V.Travnikov, Kinetics of exciton formation and relaxation in GaAs. – J. Lumin., 53, 423–426, 1992. * J.Aaviksoo Estonian physicist: Active and Productive. – Science, 275, 463, 1997.

Honors

*Member of the Academy of Sciences of Estonia (1994) *

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 ...

, class IV, of the Republic of Estonia (2000) *Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(2000) *Medal of the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

(2000) *The Medal of the City of Tartu (2002) *Honorary Doctor of the

University of Turku sv, Åbo universitet , latin_name = Universitas Aboensis , image_name = University of Turku.svg , motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle'' , established = 1920 , type ...

(2003) *Member of

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

(2004) *

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star ( et, Valgetähe teenetemärk; french: Ordre de l'Etoile Blanche) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic ...

, class II, of the Republic of Estonia (2006) *

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

(2006) * Cross of Merit of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, III class (2007) * Order of Merit of France (2007) * Order of the Three Stars of the Republic of Latvia (2009) * Estonian Defence League White Cross, I class (2011) * Honorary Doctor of the

University of Lapland The University of Lapland is located in the city of Rovaniemi, Finland. It was founded in 1979. While UiT The Arctic University of Norway is the northernmost university in the world, the University of Lapland is the most northern university in t ...

(2012)

References

External links

Rector’s website at TalTech
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Aaviksoo, Jaak Isamaa politicians Estonian Reform Party politicians 1954 births Living people Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Defence Ministers of Estonia Government ministers of Estonia Members of Academia Europaea Politicians from Tartu Miina Härma Gymnasium alumni University of Tartu alumni University of Tartu faculty Tallinn University of Technology faculty Members of the Estonian Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Ordre national du Mérite Rectors of the University of Tartu Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 4th Class Tartu Ülikool/Rock players Osaka University faculty Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 2nd Class 20th-century Estonian politicians 21st-century Estonian politicians Members of the Riigikogu, 2007–2011 Members of the Riigikogu, 2011–2015 Members of the Riigikogu, 2015–2019