The Prime Minister of Estonia ( Estonian: ''peaminister'') is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

of the Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by 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 ...

after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions and confirmed by the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

(''

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 Just ...

''). In case of disagreement, the Parliament can reject the president's nomination and choose their own candidate. In practice, since the prime minister must maintain the confidence of Parliament in order to remain in office, they are usually the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition. The current prime minister is Kaja Kallas of the Reform Party. She took the office on 26 January 2021 following the resignation of Jüri Ratas. In their role as appointed by the president, the prime minister does not head any specific ministry. Rather, in accordance with the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, they supervise of the work of the government. The prime minister's significance and role in the government and their relations with other ministries often depend on the position of the party led by the prime minister in vis-à-vis the coalition partners, and on how much influence the prime minister possesses within its own party. If the prime minister has a strong position within their party, and the government is made up solely of representatives of that party, the prime minister can enjoy considerable authority. In all crucial national questions, however, the final word rests with the parliament as the legislative power. Unlike counterparts in other parliamentary republics, the prime minister is both ''de jure'' and ''de facto'' chief executive. This is because the Constitution explicitly vests executive power in the Government, of which the prime minister is the leader. In most other parliamentary republics, the president is at least nominal chief executive, while bound by convention to act on the cabinet's advice.

History

After Estonia declared independence from the then warring

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and German Empires in 1918, the

Provisional Government of Estonia The Estonian Provisional Government ( et, Eesti Ajutine Valitsus) was formed on 24 February 1918, by the Salvation Committee appointed by ''Maapäev'', the Estonian Province Assembly. History Konstantin Päts' first provisional cabinet The Pr ...

was led by a Prime Minister until 1920. The 1920 Constitution set up a head of government whose position called the State Elder (''riigivanem'') and there was no separate head of state. This system was a radically

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

because the State Elder could be dismissed by the

with a simple majority. Moreover, the State Elder was not the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, nor could they ratify laws or dissolve the Riigikogu. The dissolution of Parliament was only possible through a referendum. Under the 1934 Constitution passed by plebiscite, the position of Prime Minister was recreated as head of government in a more

presidential system A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...

. Under this constitution, the head of state took the name State Elder (''riigivanem'') identical to the name for the 1920–1934 head of government. The newly established head of state could appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister and Cabinet, veto laws, give decrees (statutes) and dissolve the Riigikogu.(Zetterberg 2007, pages 558–559) The incumbent Prime Minister in duties of the State Elder of Estonia

Konstantin Päts Konstantin Päts (; – 18 January 1956) was an Estonian statesman and the country's president in 1938–1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades prior ...

, staged a

self-coup A self-coup, also called autocoup (from the es, autogolpe), is a form of coup d'état in which a nation's head, having come to power through legal means, tries to stay in power through illegal means. The leader may dissolve or render powerless ...

to counter the threat of the

Vaps Movement The Vaps Movement ( et, Eesti Vabadussõjalaste Keskliit, later ''Eesti Vabadussõjalaste Liit'', ''vabadussõjalased'', or colloquially ''vapsid'', a single member of this movement was called ''vaps'') was an Estonian political organization. Fo ...

and suspended the full implementation of the 1934 Constitution, not going ahead with elections for the new head of state and disbanding the Riigikogu. Päts remained the Prime Minister in duties of the State Elder 1934–1937, and as President-regent (''riigihoidja'') for 1937–1938. According to the 1938 Constitution, the position of the Prime Minister was retained, while the head of state was finally renamed the President under a presidential system. The 1992 Constitution after the Soviet occupation reinstated the 1938–1940 positions of Prime Minister and President under a parliamentary system.

1918–1920

1934–1937

1938–1944

1990–present

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prime Minister Of Estonia * Estonia, Prime Minister

Prime Ministers 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 no ...

1918 establishments in Estonia 1938 establishments in Estonia 1990 establishments in Estonia