Jaak Jõerüüt (born 9 December 1947 in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

) is an

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

...

writer and politician. He was the

defense minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

from November 2004 to 10 October 2005. Jõerüüt first came to political prominence when he became one of the voters for the

Estonian restoration of Independence Estonian Restoration of Independence, legally defined as the Restoration of the Republic of Estonia, was proclaimed on 20 August 1991. On that day at 23:02 local time, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia, in agreement with the E ...

. He was then appointed to be Minister of Defence in November 2004 in

Juhan Parts Juhan Parts ((, born 27 August 1966) is an Estonian politician who was Prime Minister of Estonia from 2003 to 2005 and Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications from 2007 to 2014. Juhan Parts is a member of Isamaa party. Education Born ...

's government. When Parts resigned in April 2005, Jaak Jõerüüt was one of the few ministers retained in

Andrus Ansip Andrus Ansip (; born 1 October 1956) is an Estonian politician, a member of the European Parliament, the former European Commissioner for Digital Single Market and Vice President of the European Commission, in office from 2014 until 2019. Previo ...

's government. In September 2005, Jõerüüt resigned voluntarily over the so-called "T-Shirt Affair". (A T-shirt was produced with a list of the names of several Estonian politicians, including Jõerüüt, who are former members of the communist party; it was headed "Commies into the Oven!")Mirjam Mäekivi. "Semiootikud ei pidanud "Kommarid ahju!"-särki vaenu õhutavaks

Postimees, 25 July 2006 At a soccer match, this was worn by several people who were in the employment of his ministry. Jõerüüt was succeeded by

Jürgen Ligi Jürgen Ligi (born 16 July 1959) is an Estonian politician, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a member and the vice-chairman of the liberal Reform Party. He was Minister of Education and Research in Taavi Rõivas' cabinet from 9 April 20 ...

. Jõerüüt previously served as Estonia's ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in 2004. He served as ambassador to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

from 1998 through 2002, and ambassador to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

from 1999 through 2004. From 1993 to 1997, Jõerüüt was ambassador to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and from 2006 to 2010 to

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and now to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

from 2011 to 2014.

References

External links

*
Official biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joeruut, Jaak Estonian non-fiction writers 1947 births Living people Politicians from Tallinn Writers from Tallinn Ministers of defence of Estonia Permanent representatives of Estonia to the United Nations Ambassadors of Estonia to Italy Ambassadors of Estonia to Malta Ambassadors of Estonia to Cyprus Ambassadors of Estonia to Finland Ambassadors of Estonia to Latvia Ambassadors of Estonia to Sweden Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 4th Class Voters of the Estonian restoration of Independence Tallinn University of Technology alumni 20th-century Estonian politicians 21st-century Estonian politicians 20th-century Estonian writers 21st-century Estonian writers