The Riigikogu (; from
Estonian
Estonian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
* Estonian cuisine
* Estonian culture
See also ...
''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
of
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 ...
. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
and
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and elects (either alone or, if necessary, together with representatives of local government within a broader electoral college) the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
. The ''Riigikogu'' also ratifies significant foreign treaties that impose military and proprietary obligations, bring about changes in the law, etc.; approves the budget presented by the government as law and monitors the executive power.
History
History
April 23, 1919, the opening session of the
Estonian Constituent Assembly
The Estonian Constituent Assembly ( et, Asutav Kogu) was elected on 5–7 April 1919, called by the Estonian Provisional Government during the Estonian War of Independence.
Estonian Constituent Assembly elections
Activity
The 120 members of t ...
is considered the founding date of the Parliament of Estonia.
Established under the
1920 constitution, the Riigikogu had 100 members elected for a three year term on the basis of
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
. Elections were fixed for the first Sunday in May of the third year of parliament. The first elections to the Riigikogu took place in 1920. From 1923 to 1932, there were four more elections to the Riigikogu. The elections were on a regional basis, without any threshold in the first two elections, but from 1926 a moderate threshold (2%) was used. The sessions of the Riigikogu take place in the
Toompea Castle
Toompea castle ( et, Toompea loss) is a medieval castle on Toompea hill in the central part of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. In modern times, it houses the Parliament of Estonia.
History
The Toompea castle's predecessor, an ancient Estonia ...
, where a new building in an unusual Expressionist style was erected in the former courtyard of the medieval castle in 1920–1922.
In 1933 amendments to the first Constitution was approved by referendum, where more power was given to an executive President. The following year the President used these new powers to adjourn parliament and declared
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
to avert an alleged coup. In 1937, a
second constitution was approved by referendum which saw the introduction of a two chambered legislature, the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
(''Riigivolikogu'') and the
National Council (''Riiginõukogu''). Elections were subsequently held in 1938 with only one party and non-affiliated individual candidates were allowed to run.
During the subsequent periods of
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
occupation (1940–41),
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
occupation (1941–44), and the second
Soviet occupation
During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...
(1944–1991) the Parliament was disbanded. The premises of the ''Riigikogu'' were used by the
Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR
The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR ( Estonian: ''Eesti NSV Ülemnõukogu'') was the rubber stamp "legislative assembly" of the Estonian SSR – an administrative subunit of the Soviet Union in 1940–1991. After its first democratic election ...
during the second Soviet occupation.
Restitution of independence
In September 1992, a year after Estonia had regained its independence from the Soviet Union, elections to the Parliament took place on the basis of the third
Constitution of Estonia
Constitution of Estonia is the fundamental law of the Republic of Estonia and establishes the state order as that of a democratic republic where the supreme power is vested in its citizens. The first Constitution was adopted by the freely elect ...
adopted in a referendum in the summer of the same year. The 1992 constitution, which incorporates elements of the 1920 and 1938 Constitutions and explicitly asserts its continuity with the Estonian state as it existed between 1918 and 1940, sees the return of a unicameral parliament with 101 members. The most recent parliamentary elections were held on 3 March 2019. The main differences between the current system and a pure
political representation
Political representation is the activity of making citizens "present" in public policy-making processes when political actors act in the best interest of citizens. This definition of political representation is consistent with a wide variety of vi ...
, or proportional representation, system are the established 5% national
threshold, and the use of a modified
D'Hondt formula (the divisor is raised to the power 0.9). This modification makes for more disproportionality than does the usual form of the formula.
Latest election
Current seat allocation
*
Reform Party 34
**''party leader:''
Kaja Kallas
Kaja Kallas (; born 18 June 1977) is an Estonian politician who has been serving as the prime minister of Estonia since 2021. The leader of the Reform Party since 2018, she was a Member of Parliament from 2019 to 2021, and previously between 2 ...
*
Centre Party 23
**''party leader:''
Jüri Ratas
Jüri Ratas (; born 2 July 1978) is an Estonian politician who was the 18th prime minister of Estonia from 2016 to 2021. He has been Leader of the Centre Party since 2016, and was the mayor of Tallinn from 2005 to 2007.
Jüri Ratas' first cab ...
*
Conservative People's Party of Estonia
The Conservative People's Party of Estonia ( et, Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond, EKRE) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Estonia. It is currently led by Martin Helme. It was founded in March 2012, with the ...
19
**''party leader:''
Martin Helme
Martin Helme (born 24 April 1976) is an Estonian politician, leader of the Conservative People's Party of Estonia, Conservative People's Party (EKRE), and a Far-right politics, far-right nationalist. From 2019 to 2021 he was the Minister of Fina ...
*
Isamaa
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 ...
11
**''party leader:''
Helir-Valdor Seeder
Helir-Valdor Seeder (born 7 September 1964) is an Estonian politician. He is a member of the parliament, current chairman of the Isamaa and served as Minister of Agriculture from 2007 to 2014. Seeder has a master's degree in economics from the E ...
*
Social Democratic Party of Estonia 9
**''party leader:''
Lauri Läänemets
Lauri Läänemets (born 31 January 1983 in Tallinn) is an Estonian politician. He is currently Minister of Interior Affairs and was a member of XIV Riigikogu
XIV Riigikogu is the fourteenth and current legislature of Estonian Parliament (Riig ...
*Unaffiliated 5
**
Raimond Kaljulaid (since 5 April 2019 / K before)
**
Martin Repinski
Martin Repinski (born on 6 August 1986 in Kohtla-Järve, Ida-Viru County) is an Estonian politician. He has been a member of the XIII and the XIV Riigikogu
The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is th ...
(since 21 March 2022 / K before)
**
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Anastassia Kovalenko (born 21 September 1991) is an Estonian motorcycle road racer. First of all known after the plagiarism scandal. She is racing in European Junior Cup and is first female racer in Estonian road racing history to race on the inter ...
(since 4 April 2022 / replaces SDE-MP)
**
Siim Kiisler
Siim Valmar Kiisler (born 6 November 1965) is an Estonian politician, a member of the Parempoolsed, former member of Isamaa (Pro Patria and Res Publica Union).
Personal life
In 1984, he finished his secondary education in Tallinn, and attende ...
(since 18 August 2022 / replaces I-MP)
**
Mihhail Stalnuhhin
Mihhail Stalnuhhin, russified as Mikhail Anatolyevich Stalnukhin ( Russian: Михаил Анатольевич Стальнухин; born 15 September 1961, Tartu) is an Estonian politician, representing the Estonian Centre Party from 1996 to ...
(since 6 September 2022 / K before, expelled)
Structure of former legislatures
Estonian Parliament 1992–1995
Estonian Parliament 1995–1999
Estonian Parliament 1999–2003
Estonian Parliament 2003–2007
Estonian Parliament 2007–2011
Estonian Parliament 2011–2015
Estonian Parliament 2015–2019
Estonian Parliament 2019–present
Speakers of the Riigikogu
The salary of the speaker is €5,288 per month.
1921–1937
Speakers of the Riigivolikogu (lower chamber)
Speaker of the Riiginõukogu (upper chamber)
Chairman of the Supreme Council (1990–1992)
Speaker of the Supreme Council (1990–1992)
Since 1992
Chancellery
The ''Chancellery of the Riigikogu'' ( et, Riigikogu Kantselei) is the administration supporting the Riigikogu in the performance of its constitutional functions.
See also
*
List of members of the Parliament of Estonia
*
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
Citations and references
Cited sources
*
External links
*
Riigkogu's election law
{{Authority control
1919 establishments in Estonia
Government of Estonia
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...