Urmas Paet affectionately known as „Nõmme Ummi“, (born 20 April 1974) is an

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 ...

n politician and

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) from

. He is a member of the Reform Party, part of the

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; , ADLE) was a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and the European Democratic Party. ALDE had political ...

. 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, ...

from 2005 to 2014 and

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

from 2003 to 2005. He was a member of the Estonian Parliament from 2003 to 2014.

Education and early career

Urmas 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 graduated from 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.

in 1996 with a BA in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and continued his graduate studies there, but without obtaining the degree. He was active in journalism during his studies, first at Estonian Radio and later at ''

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 employees. ''P ...

'', a mainstream daily and one of Estonia's most popular newspapers.

Political career

Paet continued his career in journalism until 1999, when he entered politics by joining the Reform Party and becoming professional advisor. He served as the Deputy Mayor of

Nõmme Nõmme ( Estonian for ' heath') is one of the eight administrative districts () of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 39,422 () and covers an area of , population density is . The district is largely a middle-class, suburban ...

(a district of Tallinn) from 1999 to 2003.

Role in Estonian politics

In April 2003, when the

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 ...

government took office, Paet became Estonian Minister of Culture. In this capacity, he helped launch a new theatre,

Theatre NO99 Theatre NO99 was a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia that began to operate in February 2005. It was a state-owned repertoire theatre that has its own building with two theatre halls in central Tallinn. The theatre closed in 2019. The theatre's name ...

Paet remained in that position until April 2005, when the Parts government fell. In April 2005, when the

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 ...

cabinet took office, he became Foreign Minister. During his time in office, the kidnapping of seven Estonian cyclists in the

Beqaa Valley The Beqaa Valley (, ; Bekaa, Biqâ, Becaa) is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon and its most important farming region. Industry, especially the country's agricultural industry, also flourishes in Beqaa. The region broadly corresponds to th ...

near the Syria-Lebanese border required Paet to undertake multiple trips to the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

in 2011; the cyclists’ release was secured after 113 days in captivity. By the time he left office, he was the second longest-serving foreign minister in Europe.

Member of the European Parliament, 2014–present

Paet has been a

since the 2014 European elections. A member of the ALDE (Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) political faction, he first served on the

Committee on Budgets The Committee on Budgets (BUDG) is a committee of the European Parliament. It has 41 members plus 39 substitute members. The committee's current chair is Jean Arthuis, who has held this position since 7 July 2014.2019 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2019. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has a calendar of upcoming elections around the world, and the National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections in cou ...

, Paet moved to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and its

Subcommittee on Security and Defence The Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) is a subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament. It is responsible for European security and defence policy, including institutions, capabilities and operations, as we ...

. In addition to his committee assignments, he is a member of the parliament's delegation for relations with the countries of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

and the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 Sovereign state, states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its ...

(ASEAN); the European Parliament Intergroup on the Digital Agenda; the European Parliament Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals; and the

European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights The European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights is an intergroup of the European Parliament's legislators which focuses on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons both inside and outside the European Uni ...

. Also since 2019, he has been part of the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG), which oversees the Parliament's election observation missions. In 2015, Paet nominated murdered Russian politician

Boris Nemtsov Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov; (9 October 195927 February 2015) was a Russian physicist, liberalism in Russia, liberal politician, and outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin. Early in his political career, he was involved in the introduction of reform ...

for the

Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, commonly known as the Sakharov Prize, is an honorary award for individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought. Named after Russian scientis ...

. In the 2015 Estonian elections, Paet received enough votes to take up a seat in the national parliament yet decided to keep his seat in the European Parliament. Following the

2019 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2019. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has a calendar of upcoming elections around the world, and the National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections in cou ...

, Paet was part of a cross-party working group in charge of drafting the European Parliament's four-year work program on foreign policy.

Recognition

In March 2019, Paet was the recipient of the Security & Defence Award at ''

The Parliament Magazine ''The Parliament Magazine'' is a monthly EU politics, policy and culture magazine. Its website, www.theparliamentmagazine.eu, is a forum for discussion on the latest developments in EU politics and policy, featuring regular contributions from pr ...

s annual MEP Awards. Paet was also the recipient of the Security and Defence Award at 2022 MEP Awards ceremony.

References

External links

Foreign Minister's HomepageUrmas Paet at Estonian Reform Party's website
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Paet, Urmas 1974 births Estonian Reform Party MEPs Estonian Reform Party politicians Living people Members of the Riigikogu, 2003–2007 Members of the Riigikogu, 2007–2011 Members of the Riigikogu, 2011–2015 Members of the Riigikogu, 2023–2027 MEPs for Estonia 2014–2019 MEPs for Estonia 2019–2024 Ministers of culture of Estonia Ministers of foreign affairs of Estonia Politicians from Tallinn Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class University of Tartu alumni MEPs for Estonia 2024–2029