Marko Mihkelson (born 30 November 1969) 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 and politician representing the liberal Reform Party (

Renew Europe Renew Europe (Renew) is a liberal, pro-European political group of the European Parliament founded for the ninth European Parliament term. The group is the successor to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group which exist ...

) in the

Parliament of Estonia 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 ...

. Mihkelson was born in Valga, and was first elected to the parliament in 2003 as a member of the

Pro Patria and Res Publica Union 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 Publica ...

. He has served in parliament since 2003 as a Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee, Chair of EU Affairs Committee and Chair of National Defense Committee. On 26 June 2017, he and the former leader of the party

Margus Tsahkna Margus Tsahkna (born 13 April 1977) is an Estonian politician, one of the leaders of new liberal Estonia 200 party, former leader of the conservative Isamaa party, former Minister of Defence in Jüri Ratas' cabinet and Minister of Social Protectio ...

announced that they were leaving the party. Mihkelson went on to continue as an independent politician, until joining the Reform Party in September 2018.

Early life and education

Mihkelson graduated cum laude from the University of Tartu in 1993 as historian. In 1999, Mihkelson received a master's degree on a subject related to the recent history of Russia.

Photo scandal

On the evening of October 27, 2022, the Postimees online publication published an article in which it was claimed that Mihkelson had taken questionable pictures of his foster children and justified the coverage of the issue with the threat of blackmail to the politician. According to Mihkelson, the publication of the article was related to a custody dispute. The subject had been offered to the press at length, which ruled out the possibility of blackmail, and the photos had been previously examined by specialists who, although they considered them objectionable, did not see in them abuse or anything else that would have given grounds for starting the procedure.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mihkelson, Marko 1969 births 21st-century Estonian politicians Estonian Reform Party politicians Isamaa politicians Living people Members of the Riigikogu, 2003–2007 Members of the Riigikogu, 2007–2011 Members of the Riigikogu, 2011–2015 Members of the Riigikogu, 2015–2019 Members of the Riigikogu, 2019–2023 Members of the Riigikogu, 2023–2027 People from Valga, Estonia Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class The Moscow Times people