Maire Aunaste (''née'' Ütt, born November 7, 1953) 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 journalist. Aunaste's father was Helmut-Endel Ütt and her mother's maiden name was Kalaus. She is the oldest of three siblings; her youngest sister is actress Eva Püssa and the middle sister is Tiina Prentsel. She was an

Estonian Television Eesti Televisioon (ETV) ( en, Estonian Television) is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broadcasting. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955. History Eesti Televisioon (''Estonian Televis ...

presenter for eight years, and news reporter for ''

Aktuaalne kaamera Aktuaalne kaamera (abbreviated AK) is an Estonian television news program shown in Eesti Televisioon. They first broadcast on March 11, 1956, which makes AK the oldest continuously running television program in Estonia. Since October 1958, AK broad ...

''. For a total of 10 years, she was hosting an

Eesti Televisioon Eesti Televisioon (ETV) ( en, Estonian Television) is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broadcasting. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955. History Eesti Televisioon (''Estonian Televisi ...

entertainment show ''Out With You'', and

Kanal 2 Kanal 2 is a privately owned Estonian television channel. Its literal name in English is "Channel 2". The channel was established by Ilmar Taska. The channel began broadcasting on 1 October 1993. History The channel started broadcasting on O ...

's ''We''. April 27, 2005 in a poll published by the magazine ''Week'', Aunaste was selected as the second best TV host with 626 votes, after

Anu Välba Anu Välba (born 14 May 1974) is an Estonian TV and radio host. She graduated from Tallinn University in television directing in 1998 but has been working as a hostess instead. Her credits include the TV morning programme " Terevisioon", weekly " ...

, and before

Eda-Ines Etti Eda-Ines Etti (, born 26 May 1981), also known as simply Ines, is an Estonian singer and songwriter. Etti represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song " Once in a Lifetime", placing fourth. Until their win the following ...

. In 2007, she came in second again in the same election, and this time Anu Välba was first and Aigi Vahing ( :et) third. In 2015

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, Aunaste was chosen to the parliament with 679 individual votes.

Work on the radio

* 2004 - "Tuesdays with you"

Vikerraadio Vikerraadio is an Estonian national radio channel of Eesti Rahvusringhääling (formerly Eesti Raadio). It began broadcasting on April 3, 1967. Ingrid Peek has been the editor-in-chief since August 7, 2017. According to the Kantar Emor radio surv ...

culture program.

Work in print

* Maire Aunaste is one of the founders of the magazine ''

Kroonika ''Kroonika'' (meaning ''The Chronicle'' in English) is a popular Estonian magazine which is typically popular with young Estonian persons aged between 13 and 30 years of age. History and profile ''Kroonika'' was established in 1996. Its previo ...

'' and was its first editor-in-chief. * In the magazine ''Naised'', she wrote about her life in America. Later these stories were published as a book ''Viis aastat peidus'' (''Five years in hiding''). * Has been a weekly columnist in ''

Õhtuleht ''Õhtuleht'' (''Evening Paper'') is the largest daily newspaper in Estonia. It is a tabloid newspaper. The newspaper is published in Tallinn in the Estonian language. History and profile ''Õhtuleht'' was established in 1944. On 3 July 2000 t ...

''. * A columnist in ''

Maaleht http://ekspress.delfi.ee/news/paevauudised/ekspress-on-eesti-suurim-nadalaleht?id=69205373 ''Maaleht'' is the biggest weekly newspaper published in Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Nort ...

''.

Fiction

Maire Aunaste has written three books: * ''"Iseennast kuulates"'' (''Listening to yourself,'') BNS, - The book is based on the texts of the Radio 2 broadcasts: "Only Love" and "Frankly about life". The tenet of this book is that absolutely all people want to be special. * ''"Viis aastat peidus"'', (''Five years in hiding,'') Magazine Publishers Ltd. 2008, - Book one of the Estonian TV presenter's life in the United States. What life really means to be illegal, if there are no official residence and work permit? How to earn the daily bread procurement, who was known as the home television, but now the only mention of human rights worker in the primary? "After these experiences I know that now there is nothing that can degrade me." says the author herself. * ''"Mitte ainult meestest"'', (''Not only about men''), 2009

Awards

* Häädemeeste municipality Freeman

Personal life

She has been married twice. Her daughter Elis is a journalist.

References

1953 births Living people Estonian journalists Estonian women journalists Estonian television personalities University of Tartu alumni Women members of the Riigikogu Members of the Riigikogu, 2015–2019 21st-century Estonian women politicians {{Estonia-journalist-stub