Marina Kaljurand

Marina Kaljurand
28th Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 16 July 2015 – 12 September 2016
Prime Minister	Taavi Rõivas
Preceded by	Keit Pentus-Rosimannus
Succeeded by	Jürgen Ligi
Estonian Ambassador to the United States and Mexico
In office 2011–2014
President	Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Preceded by	Väino Reinart
Succeeded by	Eerik Marmei
Estonian Ambassador to Russia
In office 2007–2011
President	Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Preceded by	Karin Jaani
Succeeded by	Simmu Tiik
Estonian Ambassador to Israel
In office 2004–2006
President	Arnold Rüütel
Preceded by	Jüri Seilenthal
Succeeded by	Aino Lepik von Wiren
Personal details
Born	(1962-09-06) 6 September 1962 Tallinn, Estonia
Political party	Independent
Alma mater	University of Tartu Estonian School of Diplomacy Tufts University

Marina Kaljurand (née Rajevskaja; born 6 September 1962)^[1] is an Estonian politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs . She was nominated by the Reform Party, but is independent and has never been affiliated to any political party.^[1] Earlier, she served as the Ambassador of Estonia to the United States, Russia, Mexico, Canada, Kazakhstan, and Israel.

Early life and education

Born in Tallinn, Kaljurand is of Latvian and Russian descent through her father and mother, respectively.^[2] After obtaining her high school diploma in Tallinn, she graduated in 1986 from the University of Tartu, where she earned a master's degree in law (cum laude). She has also graduated from the Estonian School of Diplomacy and has acquired a master's degree in international law and diplomacy from Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in the United States.^[1]

Career

Kaljurand formerly worked as the Undersecretary for Legal and Consular Affairs, Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Undersecretary for Foreign Economic Relations and Development Aid at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Ambassador Kaljurand with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2006

Ambassador Kaljurand with President Obama in the Oval Office in 2011

Kaljurand was the Ambassador of Estonia to Israel in 2004–2006, to the Russian Federation in 2005–2008, to Kazakhstan in 2007–2011, to Canada in 2011–2013, and to the United States and Mexico in 2011–2014.^[1]

Minister of Foreign Affairs

In July 2015, the Reform Party nominated Kaljurand as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs after Keit Pentus-Rosimannus had resigned. Her tenure began on 16 July 2015.^[3] She has frequently emphasized the importance of an efficient Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) as well as a European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).

Kaljurand with Philip Hammond in 2015

Kaljurand with John McCain and other members of the U.S Senate

Kaljurand with U.S. and Estonian soldiers

Relations with Russia

Estonian and Latvian Foreign Minister wearing yellow ribbons to support Eston Kohver

Incidents near border

One of the leading Estonian television broadcasts “Pealtnägija” reported that in 2015 alone, "Russian military aircraft have flown with turned off transponders 266 times near Estonian borders." Marina Kaljurand then made a statement to the press saying Russia has given no explanations on these incidents. Each of the 266 incidents have caused NATO fighter jets to scramble from Ämari to intercept and identify the aircraft with switched off transponders. Kaljurand said this is a very serious problem and Estonia has repeatedly demanded answers from Russia. “Every meeting I have had with the Russian ambassador we have talked about aircraft with switched off transponders being dangerous, they are a threat to all air traffic over the Baltic Sea,” she said. Having their transponders switched off turns the aircraft invisible to most radars used by civil air traffic control. Kaljurand said the ambassador always replies that he will inform Moscow. “He is yet to give a thorough, rational, logical answer,” she added. ^[4]

Soviet reparations question

Justice Minister and former Defence Minister Urmas Reinsalu (IRL) signed a memorandum with the other two Baltic justice ministers on cooperation to submit reparation demands to Russia. Kaljurand then responded that «The foreign ministry and Estonian government are not intending to take actual practical steps regarding that.» ^{[5] [6]}

Border treaty

As Foreign Minister, Kaljurand has continued the work of former ministers to sign a border treaty between Estonia and Russia. The government's bill includes two treaties and a separate agreement on the delimitation of maritime areas near Narva and the Gulf of Finland. The ratification of the bill, which would establish the state border between Estonia and Russia, requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament.^[7] The current bill has been heavily criticized by some conservative MPs. EKRE MP Henn Põlluaas said that Estonia does not need the border treaty and it is harmful to Estonia. In his opinion, the issue is in sovereignty and whether Estonia wants to protect its territorial integrity.

Presidential election in 2016

According to polls, many Estonians wanted to see Kaljurand as the next president, when Toomas Hendrik Ilves' term as President of Estonia ends. For example, according to a poll by TNS Emor in December 2015, 20.3 percent of the respondents wanted to see her as president, with Edgar Savisaar (12.6 percent) in second, followed by Siim Kallas (10.6 percent) and Indrek Tarand (9.5 percent). Kaljurand was the most popular candidate for both sexes, for all education levels and age groups and all income brackets, except for those making 300 or less euros per month.^[8]

Kaljurand announced her interest in running, but after the Reform Party had multiple candidates to choose from, Kaljurand suggested that the party would support former Prime Minister Siim Kallas in the election in the parliament and her in the electoral college, in case that the parliament was unable to make a decision.^[9] However, the Reform Party decided to support Kallas both in the parliament and in the electoral college. After the decision was made by the party, Kaljurand announced that she would step down from her position as Minister of Foreign Affairs and would run for presidency without the support from the Reform Party.^[10]

In the election, Kaljurand placed fourth with 75 votes and did not advance to the second round of voting. However, as the electoral college could not make a decision between Kallas and Allar Jõks, the election returned to the parliament for another round and the nomination procedure started over. After hearing the results, Kaljurand announced that she would not run again.^[11]

In October 2016, Kaljurand started working as an adviser on security-related questions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^[12]

Personal life

Kaljurand speaks four languages: Estonian, Russian, English and Finnish. She is married with two children - daughter Kaisa (born 1987) and son Kristjan (born 1992).

Gender equality

Marina Kaljurand has been a vocal supporter of women rights. At the Achieving Gender Equality conference in Tbilisi she said "The political agreements and legal frameworks are in place – now the countries need to start implementing them more efficiently. Everyone benefits from a larger proportion of women in politics and the economy - equal participation will revitalize the economy and increase overall satisfaction."^[13]

References

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