Urmas Paet

Urmas Paet (born April 20 1974) is an Estonian politician and currently the Foreign Minister of Estonia. He is a member of the Estonian Reform Party.

Paet was born in Tallinn, Estonian SSR. He graduated from the University of Tartu in 1996 with a BA in Political Science and continued his graduate studies there, however without ever obtaining the degree. He had been active in journalism during his studies, and continued in that career until 1999, when he entered politics by joining the Reform Party and becoming professional advisor. He served as the Deputy Mayor of Nõmme (a district of Tallinn) from 1999 until 2003.

In April 2003, when the Juhan Parts government took office, Paet became Estonian Minister of Culture. He remained in that position until April 2005, when the Parts government fell. Since April 2005, when the Andrus Ansip cabinet took office, he has been Foreign Minister.

Paet is married and has two children. He speaks Estonian, Russian, German, Finnish and English.

External links

* [http://www.vm.ee/eng/kat_135/774.html Foreign Ministers Homepage]