Urmas Reinsalu (born 22 June 1975) is an Estonian politician serving as the

minister of foreign affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

since 18 July 2022 and previously between April 2019 and 26 January 2021. Before that, Urmas has served as the

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 ...

between 2012 and 2014, and

minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

from 2015 to 2019. Reinsalu is a member of the

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 ...

("Fatherland") political party (formerly called 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 Publi ...

), and was the party leader from 2012 to 2015.

Early life and education

Reinsalu was born 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 ' ...

, Estonia, on 22 June 1975. He graduated from the Tallinn Secondary School No. 37. He then studied law at 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 ...

, graduating in 1997.

Political career

Early years

From 1996 to 1997, Reinsalu worked as a specialist in

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...

in the

Estonian Ministry of Justice The Estonian Ministry of Justice ( et, Justiitsministeerium) is the Ministry of Justice of Estonia. The Minister of Justice ( et, justiitsminister) is the senior minister at the Ministry of Justice in the Estonian Government. The Ministry is r ...

, and as an advisor to then Estonian President from 1996 to 1998. In 1998, Reinsalu was appointed Director of the Office of the

President of Estonia The president of the Republic of Estonia ( et, Eesti Vabariigi President) is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid. Estonia is ...

, when

Lennart Meri Lennart Georg Meri (; 29 March 1929 – 14 March 2006) was an Estonian politician, writer, and film director. He served as the second president of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Meri was among the leaders of the movement to restore Estonian independ ...

was in office. From 2001 to 2002, he worked as the political secretary of the

Res Publica Party Res Publica Party ( et, Erakond Res Publica) was a political party in Estonia that self-identified as conservative. Established as a party on 8 December 2001, the political organisation Res Publica was founded already as early as 1989 and exist ...

. From 2002 to 2003, Reinsalu was a lecturer in the

Estonian Academy of Security Sciences 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 e ...

. From 2007 to 2013, Reinsalu was a member of the

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 Jus ...

, the

unicameral parliament 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 multi ...

of Estonia. On 28 January 2012, Reinsalu became the chairman of the

, an Estonian national-conservative, Christian-democratic political party, replacing

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 ...

. He was elected chairman with an absolute majority in the first round of voting at the party congress held in Tallinn.

Minister of Defence (2012-2015)

On 11 May 2012, Reinsalu was appointed minister of defence, replacing Mart Laar, who resigned from office due to health reasons. Reinsalu's term as the minister of defence ended on 26 March 2014, when he was replaced by Sven Mikser. From 2014 to 2015, he was a member of the Riigikogu.

Minister of Justice (2015-2019)

In the 2015 parliamentary election, Reinsalu was re-elected to the Riigikogu with 2,949 individual votes. On 9 April 2015, Reinsalu became the minister of justice in

Taavi Rõivas Taavi Rõivas (; born 26 September 1979) is a Estonian politician, former Prime Minister of Estonia from 2014 to 2016 and former leader of the Reform Party. Before his term as the Prime Minister, Rõivas was the Minister of Social Affairs fro ...

' second cabinet. As the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union was the biggest loser in the elections with 9 seats lost, Reinsalu announced he would resign as party chairman after the party's congress in June 2015. On 6 June 2015, he was replaced by

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 ...

in the post.

Minister of Foreign Affairs (2019-2021)

Reinsalu was the

Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs , insignia = Coat of arms of Estonia.svg , insigniasize = 80px , department = Ministry of Foreign Affairs , image = File:Urmas Reinsalu 2017-05-25 (cropped).jpg , incumbent = Urmas Reinsalu , incumbentsince = 18 July 2022 , acting = , fo ...

from April 2019 until January 2021. He returned to the foreign ministry in July 2022, after the Prime Minister dismissed her

Estonian Centre Party The Estonian Centre Party ( et, Eesti Keskerakond, EK) is a populist political party in Estonia. It was founded in 1991 as a direct successor of the Popular Front of Estonia, and it is currently led by Jüri Ratas. The party was founded on 12 O ...

coalition partners. At the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Foreign Ministers meeting in November 2022 Reinsalu stated that "The message is clear: that all NATO allies are aware that the beast also wants to take control of the

Western Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, and we need - by practical, deliverable support to help these countries to survive."

Controversies

In 2012, Reinsalu was criticized for endorsing Estonia's "Valentine's Day Law" that declared Estonian WW2 veterans who fought on the side of Nazi Germany (including members of the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS) "freedom fighters", and for attending the meeting of the Union of Estonian Freedom Fighters (an organization of these veterans) on the island

Saaremaa Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the island i ...

. During his visit, Reinsalu gave a laudatory speech to the veterans for having "liberated Estonia". Later on, in July 2013, he sent his greetings to the Union, praising the organization for "keeping the ideals of liberty alive". In January 2014, Reinsalu also drew ire for lauding the Waffen SS veteran

Harald Nugiseks Harald Nugiseks (22 October 1921 – 2 January 2014) was an Waffen-Oberscharführer (Sergeant) in World War II, who served in the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) of the ''Waffen-SS''. Nugiseks is also one of the four E ...

, who was the recipient of Nazi Germany's highest military award

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

, at his honorary burial.Estonia’s Last “Knight’s Cross” Waffen SS Man Gets Full-Honors Military Funeral
/ref>

Personal life

Reinsalu is married and has two children. He is fluent in English, German, Russian and Finnish.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reinsalu, Urmas 1975 births Defence Ministers of Estonia Estonian academics Justice ministers of Estonia Government ministers of Estonia 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 Leaders of political parties in Estonia Politicians from Tallinn Isamaa politicians University of Tartu alumni 21st-century Estonian politicians Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Estonia