Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs

The Minister of Foreign Affairs ( _et. välisminister) is the senior minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( _et. Eesti Vabariigi Välisministeerium) in the Estonian Government. The Minister is one of the most important members of the Estonian government, with responsibility for the relations between Estonia and foreign states.

The Foreign Minister is chosen by the Prime Minister as a part of the government. The current Foreign Minister is Urmas Paet, who took the position with the installation of a new government on 12 April 2005.

Besides the Foreign Minister there are several Undersecretaries that assist in running the various divisions of the Foreign Ministry:
*Secretary General - Matti Maasikas: Oversees the Undersecretary divisions as well as Diplomatic Security, Protocol, and Internal Audit Departments, and is the second highest position in the Foreign Ministry
*Undersecretary of the Ministry, Political Affairs - Sven Jürgenson: Oversees and develops policy for areas outside of the European Union, and runs the Press and Information division of the Foreign Ministry
*Undersecretary of the Ministry, Foreign Economic Policy Affairs - Mart Laanemäe: Oversees and develops economic policy concerning foreign states for the Foreign Ministry.
*Undersecretary of the Ministry, European Union Affairs - Kaja Tael: Oversees and develops policy concerning relations with states within the EU and relations with the EU.
*Undersecretary of the Ministry, Legal and Consular Affairs - Aino Lepik von Wiren: Oversees the Legal and Consular divisions.
*Undersecretary of the Ministry, Administrative Affairs - Mati Vaarmann: Oversees the daily administrative and personnel tasks of the Foreign Ministry

ee also

*Foreign relations of Estonia

Contact information

Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Islandi väljak 1, 15049 Tallinn
e-mail: [e-mail]
tel:[phone]
FAX:[phone]

External links

* [http://www.vm.ee/eng Ministry of Foreign Affairs official web site]
*http://www.un.org/webcast/ga/61/pdfs/estonia-e.pdf