President Toomas Hendrik Ilves engaged to Ieva Kupce
Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who divorced Evelin Ilves this spring, is engaged to Ieva Kupce from Latvia.
“Yes, Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Ieva Kupce got engaged in the middle of November,” Toomas Sildam, president's public relations manager, confirmed to ERR. “It was their personal decision and is in no way related to the presidential duties of Toomas Hendrik Ilves,” he added.
Ieva Kupce, 38, is the head of the National Cyber Security Policy Section of the Latvian Ministry of Defense. She has worked in the field of foreign and security policy in different institutions in Latvia and with NATO, focusing on the issues of security, democracy, and human rights. In 2012, she graduated the mid-career program at Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC and returned to Latvia as advisor to the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense. She also coordinated the establishment of the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence (NATO StratCom COE) in Riga, Latvia.
President Ilves divorced his second wife Evelin Ilves on April 30, 2015. They were married for over 10 years and have a daughter born in 2003. Ilves also has two older children from his first marriage to American psychologist Dr. Merry Bullock.
Ilves's term in the office will come to an end in August 2016. It has not yet been confirmed if the wedding will take place before that and if Kupce will assume the duties of the first lady, although according to Postimees, this might be the case.
Editor: M. Oll