Aivo Orav was selected as part of the ranking by the political editor of local  publication "Vijesti". Orav has been in the role in Podgorica since September 2016.

"Such a mention is a great honor, especially since this list usually only includes Montenegrin citizens, such as politicians, businessmen and community figures," Orav told ERR. 

In his view, his place on the list is due to his mediation efforts between the government party and the highly fragmented opposition parties which have virtually no direct contact for several years.

"The Montenegrin opposition has boycotted parliamentary work with varying degrees of success following the parliamentary elections of 2016. The 2016 parliamentary elections are known to have taken place in a very tense coup attempt," Orav explained.

The ambassador said his mediation talks between the opposition and the government last year aimed at the recognition of the results of the 2020 elections by all parties.

From March 2012 to August 2016, Orav was the Head of the European Union Mission in Macedonia (now known as North Macedonia).

Orav graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Chemistry of the University of Tartu in 1990. He joined the Estonian Foreign Ministry in 1992. He has represented Estonia as ambassador to Poland and has also covered Romania and Bulgaria from Warsaw. From 2008 to 2012, Orav was the Estonian ambassador to Turkey, also covering Azerbaijan and Lebanon. From 2005 to 2008, Orav worked as the Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

-- 

Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!