Vilja Toomast (born 15 August 1962,

Antsla Antsla is a town in Võru County, southern Estonia, it is the administrative centre of Antsla Parish. Antsla borough was renamed town of third rank by Konstantin Päts from 1 May 1938. The settlement is known since 1405. The town has a furnitur ...

as Vilja Laanaru; 1996–2010 Vilja Savisaar; 2010–2015 Vilja Savisaar-Toomast) 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 ...

, a former

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

. She previously belonged to the

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 Oc ...

which she decided to leave on 9 April 2012. In 1992–1995, Vilja Laanaru was a member of

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 ...

, belonging to the

Independent Royalist Party of Estonia Independent Royalist Party of Estonia ( et, Eesti Rojalistlik Partei) was a frivolous political party in Estonia in the 1990s. It is now defunct. The party, widely considered a humorous expression of protest, was successful in the 1992 Estonian ...

. In 1997, she joined the

and has several times been elected to Riigikogu as well as worked 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 ' ...

city government. In 2009, she became a Member of the European Parliament after

Edgar Savisaar Edgar Savisaar (31 May 1950 – 29 December 2022) was an Estonian politician, one of the founding members of Popular Front of Estonia and the Centre Party. He served as the acting Prime Minister of Estonia, Minister of the Interior, Minister ...

renounced his mandate, so as to remain mayor of Tallinn. She left the Centre Party in 2012, maintaining her position as an MEP, and joined the

Estonian Reform Party The Estonian Reform Party ( et, Eesti Reformierakond) is a liberal political party in Estonia. The party has been led by Kaja Kallas since 2018. It is colloquially known as the "Squirrel Party" ( et, Oravapartei). It was founded in 1994 by Si ...

in June 2013. She ran again at the 2014 European elections, but was not successful. In June 2018, Toomast returned to Riigikogu to replace MP

Eerik-Niiles Kross Eerik-Niiles Kross (born 8 September 1967) is an Estonian politician, diplomat, former chief of intelligence and entrepreneur. He is a member of parliament (Riigikogu). During the 1980s, Kross was a prominent figure in the anti-Soviet non-violen ...

, who had vacated his seat. She has been President of the Estonian Volleyball Federation since 2007 and since November 2008, in the Executive Committee of the

Estonian Olympic Committee The Estonian Olympic Committee ( et, Eesti Olümpiakomitee) (EOK) is responsible for the Estonia's participation in the Olympic Games. History The Estonian Sports Federation ( et, Eesti Spordi Liit) decided to form the Estonian Olympic Committe ...

for the next 4 years.

MEP

*Member of the Transport and Tourism Committee *Member of the EU-Kazakhstan, EU-Kyrgyzstan and EU-Uzbekistan Parliamentary Cooperation Committees, and for relations with Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia delegation *Substitute in Regional Development Committee

Personal life

In her youth she dated

Vahur Kersna Vahur Kersna (also Vahur-Üllar Kersna; born on 4 February 1962) is an Estonian journalist, radio and television personality and caricaturist. In 1985, he graduated from University of Tartu, Tartu State University in journalism. 1986–2007, he ...

, an Estonian TV personality also originating from Antsla. In 1996, Vilja Laanaru married Centre Party leader

; they divorced in 2009. They have one daughter. In August 2010, she married opera singer Taimo Toomast (since 2013 member of the Reform Party) and changed her surname to Savisaar-Toomast. In December 2015 she announced the omission of Savisaar from her surname."Vilja Savisaar-Toomastist sai Vilja Toomast"

Postimees ''Postimees'' () is an Estonian daily newspaper established on 5 June 1857, by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. In 1891, it became the first daily newspaper in Estonia. Its current editor-in-chief is Priit Hõbemägi. The paper has approximately 250 ...

, 29 December 2015.

Education

1985 Degree from 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 ...

, psychologist and teacher 1988 Master's degree, Institute of General and Molecular Pathology, State University of Tartu

Career

*Psychologist, Mainor consultants (1988–1990) *Assistant to the Prime Minister (1990–1992) *Chief editor, Seitse Päeva magazine (1990–1994) *Adviser to the Deputy Speaker of the Estonian Parliament (1992–1994) *Chief editor, Elu Pilt magazine (1994–1997) *Adviser to the Minister for Home Affairs (1995) *Mayor of the Nõmme section of Tallinn (1999) *Editor responsible for OÜ Pilt ja Sõna (1999–2002) *Deputy mayor, Northern Tallinn Executive (2002), mayor of city section (2005–2007) *Member of the Estonian Parliament (2003–2005 and since 2007). *Member of the executive, Keskerakond Party. *Member, Eestimaa Rahvarinde volikogu (1990), Tallinn City Council (1999–2002) *Member of the Estonian Parliament during the 10th and 11th parliamentary terms. *Chair, board of East Tallinn Central Hospital; chair, board of In Commune Bonum *President, Estonian Volleyball Association; *member, Executive Committee of the Estonian Olympic Committee *President, Eastern European Zonal Association of the European Volleyball Federation

Other

In 2006, Toomast participated as a celebrity contestant on the first season of ''

Tantsud tähtedega ''Tantsud tähtedega'' ( Estonian: ''Dancing with the Stars'') is an Estonian television reality show that aired on Kanal 2 and season six on TV3. It debuted on 8 October 2006, and it became a popular television show in Estonia. It is based o ...

'', an Estonian version of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

''. Her professional dancing partner was Veiko Ratas.

Published works

*Memoirs 'Valguses ja varjus' (Kohtla-Järve 1995) *Collection 'Eestimaa Rahvarinne' (Tallinn 2002).

References

External links

Vilja Savisaar-Toomast homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toomast, Vilja 1962 births Living people People from Antsla Estonian Centre Party politicians Estonian Reform Party politicians Members of the Riigikogu, 2003–2007 Members of the Riigikogu, 2007–2011 Members of the Riigikogu, 2015–2019 Members of the Riigikogu, 2019–2023 Estonian Centre Party MEPs MEPs for Estonia 2009–2014 Women MEPs for Estonia Estonian referees and umpires 21st-century Estonian women politicians Women members of the Riigikogu University of Tartu alumni Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 4th Class 20th-century Estonian politicians 21st-century Estonian politicians Members of the Riigikogu, 2011–2015