Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, chosen to be the voice of EU diplomacy, is a determined opponent of the Kremlin and a convinced European.
The one who gave resolute support to Ukraine from the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, immediately stressed that “the war in Europe” et “the growing instability in our neighborhood and around the world” were the main challenges of European foreign policy.
An uncompromising voice of Europe on the international stage
The daughter of former Estonian Prime Minister and European Commissioner Siim Kallas, the lawyer was born when Estonia was still part of the Soviet Union.
Aged 47, she was first elected as an MEP in 2011 for the Reform Party, a liberal party founded by her father, before winning a seat in the European Parliament, appearing several times on the lists of the most influential MEPs.
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She returned to the national political scene in 2018, leading the Reform Party and becoming Estonia’s first female prime minister in 2021.
The Baltic country, which has only 1.3 million inhabitants, has become, proportionally, one of the most generous donors to Ukraine, its aid exceeding 1% of its GDP.
“If such aggression pays off in Ukraine, it could encourage others to do the same elsewhere. We must completely discredit the tool of aggression.”declared the leader during an interview with AFP in December 2023.
Kallas, who speaks English, Russian and French fluently in addition to his native Estonian, had openly expressed interest in replacing Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg as NATO head.
Lawyer, politician and prominent figure in Estonia
Her combative attitude towards Russian President Vladimir Putin earned her the support of several EU countries, including Poland, but may have hampered her ambitions for a moment, as she herself admitted.
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“Concern (for the Baltic States)is that next year it will be twenty years that we have been members of these organizations, the EU and NATO, but that we are not considered as equal candidates for high-level positions.she lamented at the end of 2023.
“And if I hear this argument that I’m a provocation for Russia, then I say we’re giving too much power to Russia to dictate our decisions.”she added.
Wanted by Russia
And from this point of view, the one we nickname “The Lady of Iron” Estonia has never been afraid of provoking Moscow.
In a symbolic break with its past, the Estonian government led by Kallas has removed Soviet-era war memorials from public spaces, a process that accelerated after the invasion of Ukraine.
“When we regained our independence, we had many other worries. When the war started, it reopened, in fact, all the wounds”Kallas said.
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This firmness earned her being placed on Moscow’s wanted list last February, officially for “destruction of monuments to Soviet soldiers”.
The passions and commitments of Kaja Kallas
Despite her popularity, she faced a crisis of confidence in 2023 after local media reported that a company partly owned by her husband continued to operate in Russia.
Rejecting calls for her resignation, Kallas was re-elected as leader of the Reform Party, her international image untarnished by the scandal.
The mother of one son, Kallas was a member of a folk dance ensemble in her youth that also performed abroad. As an adult, she complained that she never had enough time to dance.
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