Estonia's First Female Prime Minister Emerges

Nearly Half of Cabinet Members Are Women

▲Kaja Kallas (43), the first female Prime Minister of Estonia

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Estonia has appointed its first female prime minister. The new prime minister announced that nearly half of the cabinet members will be women, sparking expectations of a new wave of female leadership in Estonian politics.

According to foreign media on the 24th (local time), a new coalition government was formed in Estonia, and 43-year-old female politician Kaja Kallas was nominated as the new prime minister. This marks the first time in 103 years since the country's founding in 1918 that a woman has become head of the executive branch. At a press conference on the same day, Prime Minister-designate Kallas stated, "We will form the cabinet and other senior government positions with an equal ratio of men and women to contribute to achieving gender equality in our society."

Kallas, the first female leader of the centrist-conservative Reform Party, formed a coalition government with the centrist-progressive Centre Party on the same day. She began her political career by joining the Reform Party in 2010 after working as a lawyer, and was elected to the National Assembly in the 2011 general election. She was then elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2014, and in 2017, upon the recommendation of former Reform Party leader Hanno Pevkur, she was elected as the new party leader, becoming the first female leader of the Reform Party.

With the formation of the Kallas government, it is expected that a significant number of women will hold senior government positions. In an interview with local media BNS on the same day, she said, "At least six out of the 15 cabinet members will be women," adding, "This will demonstrate that there are many capable female talents in our society who can perform senior government duties." Bloomberg News reported that the gender-balanced cabinet composition announced by Prime Minister-designate Kallas will be the second among the three Baltic states, following Lithuania.

This coalition government was formed following the resignation of former Prime Minister J?ri Ratas, who took responsibility for a corruption scandal involving his party, the Centre Party. Recently, allegations surfaced that a key party official of the Centre Party received party funds from the private sector in exchange for interests related to real estate transactions in the capital city, Tallinn.

After Ratas resigned, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid proposed to Kallas, leader of the main opposition Reform Party, to form a new cabinet. Upon Kallas's acceptance, a new coalition government was formed under her leadership.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.