Riisalo's primary task will be to strengthen the EOK's connections with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the European Olympic Committees (EOC, the federation of all 50 European national Olympic bodies), as well as to oversee related collaborative projects, Delfi reported. He will initially be on a three-month contract.

Kaljulaid said: "Tiit Riisalo has been temporarily assigned to external affairs for three months."

"He has already arranged connections with the IOC and the EOC, enabling us to meet with their leaders, Thomas Bach and Spyros Capralos, as well as their teams."

"This will help us explore potential IOC collaboration projects we could participate in," she added.

When quizzed by Delfi on whether these objectives could be achieved within three months, Kaljulaid said: "I don't know. As Kristo [Tohver, the EOK's new secretary-general] mentioned, we want to develop this further. We'll see where we are after three months."

Riisalo was also IT and foreign trade minister, from April 2023 to July this year, with the Eesti 200 party.

In addition to hiring Riisalo, Kaljulaid has also sought the expertise of her former PR advisor when in office, Taavi Linnamäe.

Linnamäe, who currently heads the NGO President Kaljulaid Fond, has been providing services to the EOK. Kaljulaid said: "Via his company, he prepared a two-week overview for us, identifying areas where we could focus our efforts, such as communications and coach training programs."

Kersti Kaljulaid was president of Estonia from 2016-2021 and was elected new EOK chief in October, replacing Urmas Sõõrumaa, whom she ran against.

Kaljulaid has called for getting an Estonian elected to the IOC body.

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