Tõnis Saar is a seasoned secretary general, who took up his post in 2017. A secretary general's term lasts five years. When Saar's first term ended, the government approved the proposal of then-minister Maris Lauri in 2022 to appoint Saar to a second five-year term. He was expected to continue serving in the role through 2027.

Liisa Pakosta was sworn in as minister of justice on July 23 last year. According to the Civil Service Act, a secretary general may be released from service early if the minister assesses that cooperation between the minister and their secretary general has failed — but no earlier than six months after the minister and secretary general have commenced cooperation. The six-month mark fell on January 23.

Two weeks later, on February 5, Pakosta informed Saar of his dismissal from service due to failed cooperation. She gave Saar until February 6 to submit his opinion and any objections to the decision.

"I would like to praise your strong ethical convictions and personal qualities that contribute to leadership in stable situations," the minister said in her justification of his dismissal. "Unfortunately, in the management of ongoing large-scale changes, our views and approaches to ministry leadership have proven to be irreconcilably different, and therefore I am proposing to the government that you be dismissed from your position due to failed cooperation."

On February 6, Saar succinctly commented on the dismissal notice in the document management system, "I have reviewed. Minister's decision."

Saar declined to comment on the matter further to ERR.

Documents sealed to the public

On Friday morning, the documents regarding Saar's departure from his post as secretary general were publicly available in the policy information system (EIS). By midday, however, the documents were already labeled "AK," or for internal use only (asutusesiseseks kasutamiseks), meaning they were no longer publicly accessible.

Also immediately following the secretary general's dismissal document in the EIS as of Friday morning was another proposal to the government from the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs likewise restricted as "AK." The file names of the submitted documents indicate that this proposal concerns Tiina Uudeberg, who recently left her position as an undersecretary at the Ministry of Defense.

By midday, references to Uudeberg had been removed from the file names.

ERR has sent a query to Minister of Justice Liisa Pakosta asking whether Uudeberg is being proposed as the new secretary general of the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs.

Six months' compensation

According to the Civil Service Act, a ministry secretary general must be notified in writing of their release from service due to failure of cooperation at least 30 calendar days in advance. If the terms for advance notice are not followed, they are entitled to be paid for every working day of the remaining period of advance notice in addition to the aforementioned compensation.

The notice of dismissal for failed cooperation was directed to the secretary general in the document management system on February 5. Under the General Provisions of the Civil Service Act, this deadline is counted from the day after the calendar day on which the deadline was determined unless otherwise provided for by law or agreement. Thus, the 30-day notice period should conclude on March 7.

According to the Civil Service Act, if a secretary general is released from service due to failure of cooperation, they are entitled to their basic monthly salary for the months remaining until the end of their term of office as compensation, but not more than six months' basic salary. This compensation is in addition to the compensation for every working day short of the required period of advance notice.

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