Ex-Estonian PM Andrus Ansip donates professional records to state archive

Former prime minister Andrus Ansip has handed over communications, documentation and other records from his political career to the National Archives of Estonia (Rahvusarhiiv), saying he has no more use for them himself but that they could help shed light on the decisions of the day where needed.
Ansip told ERR the state archives had requested he do so a decade ago, but "Back then, I wasn't ready for that, and now I am."
"At that time, I thought I might still want to look over some papers that once seemed important to me and return to my materials.
But in actual fact, I've only searched for something from my records a handful of times over the last ten years," he added.
The National Archives said they received more than 50 boxes of documents from the former premier.
"These include papers that once seemed important to me, photographs from my official visits, various notes, some letters, speeches and their drafts – a lot of material that was once significant but no longer feels as important, yet may one day be valuable to historians to understand the historical context in which certain decisions got made," Ansip explained.
The documents primarily related to Ansip's nine years as prime minister, as well as his time as Tartu mayor, a brief stint as economics minister, and latterly as a European Commission Vice President, and MEP.
"This makes it quite a substantial archive – more than 50 archival boxes, and more will be added, as I wasn't able to organize and hand over everything immediately," Ansip continued.
"I am grateful to the National Archives for taking on my archives for preservation," he added.
Archivist Priit Pirsko thanked Ansip for donating his archive, noting it represents an important chapter in Estonia's history.
The National Archives are evaluating and cataloging the documents for public access.
"It is difficult to estimate the time required for organization due to the volume of the material," Liisi Taimre, a spokesperson at the archives, noted.
Andrus Ansip, 68, was prime minister 2005-2014, a period when Estonia dealt with the economic downturn of 2008 onwards and went on to the Euro, from January 2011. He had become Reform Party leader a year earlier.
Prior to that (1998-2004) he had been mayor of his hometown, Tartu, somewhat of a Reform Party stronghold. He was Estonia's EU commissioner 2014-2019 with the digital single market portfolio, and served as an MEP 2019-2024. He did not seek re-election as an MEP at last year's European Parliament elections.
Other high-ranking officials whose official documentation, communications etc. have been archived include former prime minister Mart Laar.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Andrew Whyte, Mait Ots