Jüri Luik (born 17 August 1966) is an Estonian diplomat and politician. He has served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

and

Minister of Defence 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 ...

, and he has acted as Estonia's ambassador to

Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, North America, and Russia.

Early life

Jüri Luik was born 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 ...

. He attended the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

where he received a degree in journalism in 1989. He was active in the Estonian independence movement at this time. After graduating, Luik became editor of the magazine ''

Vikerkaar ''Vikerkaar'' ('rainbow' in Estonian) is an Estonian magazine published in Tallinn, Estonia by Kultuurileht SA. The magazine focuses on Estonian literature. First number was issued in 1986. 1986-2006 was also issued Russian version of Vikerka ...

'' for two years. Luik married fellow diplomat Ruth Lausma Luik.

Political and diplomatic career

Luik began working under the

Lennart Meri Lennart Georg Meri (; 29 March 1929 – 14 March 2006) was an Estonian writer, film director, and statesman. He was the country's foreign minister from 1990 to 1992 and President of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Early life Meri was born in Tallin ...

, in 1989. He served as the

Anglosphere The Anglosphere, also known as the Anglo-American world, is a Western-led sphere of influence among the Anglophone countries. The core group of this sphere of influence comprises five developed countries that maintain close social, cultura ...

expert at the Estonian Institute from 1989 to 1991. He briefly worked as the Head of International Organisations Division within the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in 1991 before becoming its Political Director from 1991 to 1992. He joined the

Pro Patria National Coalition Party Pro Patria National Coalition Party (''Rahvuslik Koonderakond Isamaa'' - RKEI) was an Estonian political party founded in 1992. In 1995, it merged with the Estonian National Independence Party into Pro Patria Union. The Pro Patria National Coali ...

that was affiliated with Meri. Luik was elected to 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 chi ...

in the 1992 parliamentary election. Prime Minister

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 Economy_of_Estonia#Restoration_o ...

selected him to be in his government as a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

. Luik led a delegation to Russia between 1992 and 1993, Laar made him

in 1993. Luik was then made Minister of Foreign Affairs under

the government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

of Andres Tarand, where he served from January to April 1995. He was the youngest person to serve as Estonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, being only 28 years old. Pro Patria lost power in the 1995 parliamentary election, so Luik took a job in the United States. He worked at the

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., with operations in Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, as well as the United States. Foun ...

as a visiting associate from 1995 to 1996. He was then appointed Estonia's ambassador to Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and

from 1996 to 1999. In 1998, Luik organised the Second Student Forum on Higher Education in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

with people he had associated with during the independence movement. Luik joined a new government formed by Laar after Pro Patria's success in the 1999 parliamentary election, serving as Minister of Defence for a second time. He held this position from 1999 until the end of Laar's government in January 2002. Luik was selected to lead negotiations for Estonia to join NATO on 26 November 2002. He was appointed Estonia's ambassador to Canada, Mexico, and the United States from 2003 to 2007. He was Estonia's representative to NATO from 2007 to 2012, and its ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2015. Luik left to become Director of the International Centre for Defense and Security, where he served from 2015 to 2017. He then returned for a third tenure as Minister of Defence from 2017 to 2021. He again became Estonia's representative to NATO in 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luik, Juri 1966 births Living people Politicians from Tallinn Ministers of defence of Estonia Ambassadors of Estonia to Russia Ambassadors of Estonia to Canada Ambassadors of Estonia to Mexico Ambassadors of Estonia to the United States Permanent representatives of Estonia to NATO Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class Ministers of foreign affairs of Estonia 21st-century Estonian politicians Members of the Riigikogu, 1992–1995