The position of Undersecretary for Digital Development at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has lain vacant after its former incumbent, Luukas Kristjan Ilves, left office in late February.

A restructuring of responsibilities between the economic affairs ministry and the justice ministry – the latter now includes digital affairs in its remit – is going ahead.

Justice and Digital Affairs Minister Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) said of the rationale: "We are cut the number of management positions and are trying to harmonize the management levels between the two ministries."

"Currently, the economic affairs ministry has a four-tier management structure, while the justice ministry has three tiers. After the reorganization, both ministries should have three management levels," Pakosta went on.

With this reduction of management levels, the areas of responsibility for the relevant deputy secretaries general will also change, Pakosta added.

This means there may no longer be scope for a deputy secretary general for digital affairs, within the new structure, she elaborated.

In short, there will be a drive towards reducing the ratio of chiefs to indians, so to speak.

"We are reducing the number of superiors, which is part of the cost-saving measures," Pakosta said.

The digital undersecretary position in question has had three "super bosses," Pakosta noted, in succession, namely Taavi Kotka, Siim Sikkut, and Luukas Kristjan Ilves.

The three-tier hierarchy lay below these in turn, and may have even been designed with their leadership in mind.

However, Pakosta added, "it might make more sense to have a position with a narrower, more specific area of responsibility."

She also noted that the deputy secretary general for digital affairs, which had been organized within the structure of the economic affairs and communications ministry was responsible for areas such as telecommunications and cybersecurity.

This meant finding someone of the right caliber at public sector level wages might prove challenging, Pakosta said. "That's another reason why it might be wiser to seek an official with more specific duties."

A new competitive process will now only happen after the Riigikogu approves amendments to the Government of the Republic Act, which could take effect on November 1.

The position of Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications' Deputy Secretary General for Digital Development fell vacant in February of this year, when Luukas Kristjan Ilves, who had been in the role since early 2022, announced his resignation.

Ilves shortly started working as an advisor to the secretary general at the same ministry.

In March, he announced his candidacy for the European Parliament elections in June, running for the Reform Party and placing fourth highest on the party's list, with 5,157 votes.

Since Ilves' departure, three competitive processes have been held to find a new deputy secretary general, but have so far drawn a blank: A chosen candidate in the first round declined to take up position, and the second process found no suitable applicant.

The third and current round attracted nearly a dozen applicants, and is in its final stages as things stand.

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