Meanwhile, Reform's Yoko Alender and Signe Riisalo will be out of office, as their portfolios have been axed.

Hanno Pevkur returns as defense minister candidate for Reform, despite recent criticisms over the pace of defense procurement.

There will be five new ministers, most first-time officeholders, and seven remaining from the last administration, across both parties, making 12 ministers in all, plus the prime minister.

The number of male ministers in the new administration outnumbers the women two-to-one.

Both the Reform Party and Eesti 200 held board and council meetings in Tallinn on Saturday to present their candidates, following the signing of the new coalition agreement this week.

Eesti 200 will be getting five ministers in the new coalition, up from three in the previous one with Reform and the Social Democrats (SDE).

There will be two fewer portfolios compared to the last administration, as the position of climate minister will be abolished, and the Ministry of Social Affairs will lose one of its two positions.

Reform nominates three new ministers, loses two

Reform has put forward MP and medical doctor Karmen Joller as the candidate for Minister of Social Affairs, Tartu2024 chief organizer Kuldar Leis as candidate for Minister of Infrastructure, and MP Andres Sutt as provisional Minister of Energy and Environment, a newly created post.

Of these three, only Sutt has been a minister before.

Staying on for Reform from the previous administration are Jürgen Ligi as candidate for Minister of Finance, Hanno Pevkur as candidate for Minister of Defense, Erkki Keldo as candidate for Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry, Heidy Purga as candidate for Minister of Culture, and Kristen Michal as candidate for prime minister.

The two ministerial positions being abolished — climate minister and social protection minister — were held by Reform, meaning the politicians who took those roles, Yoko Alender and Signe Riisalo, will no longer be in office.

Eesti 200 gains two more minister portfolios, all 3 previous ministers returning

Eesti 200 is keeping all three ministers from the last government and gaining two more with the redistribution of portfolios after SDE's exit nearly two weeks ago.

Eesti 200 held its meeting later on Saturday, announcing new ministers Igor Taro as Minister of the Interior candidate and Hendrik Johannes Terras as candidate for Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture. Both had been MPs up to now.

Staying on for Eesti 200 from the last administration are party leader Kristina Kallas as education minister, Margus Tsahkna as foreign affairs minister, and Liisa Pakosta as justice and digital affairs minister. As in all other cases, these three are candidates for the posts, subject to a Riigikogu vote.

Kallas said the new government will bring change, adding that the new ministers are capable of leading these changes.

She said: "Igor Taro and Hendrik Terras have proven themselves as capable leaders and will bring freshness and new energy to governance. We will quickly make decisions to improve economic competitiveness, ensure security, and reduce bureaucracy. For Eesti 200, it is essential to agree on specific reform plans in governance, healthcare, digital and artificial intelligence adoption, as well as the development of culture and sports into economic sectors."

Reform's meeting at the Nordic Hotel Forum in Tallinn started at noon Saturday and was followed by a party council meeting, which approved the new coalition pact with Eesti 200 and included an overview by Prime Minister Michal on coalition negotiations and agreement.

The ministerial candidates were also introduced to the party council.

Earlier, Eesti 200 spokesperson Mathi Kivi had said that both the Eesti 200 board and council would meet on Saturday to announce the party's ministerial candidates, and Eesti 200's meeting started two hours after Reform's.

The new ministers need to be voted on at the Riigikogu before taking the oath of office. The Reform-Eesti 200 coalition has a small majority of 52 in the 101-seat chamber.

Sutt: Wind energy the most competitive solution

On being confirmed as candidate for energy minister, Sutt told ERR that wind energy, together with solar energy and storage, is what will bring electricity prices down in the future.

He said: "Estonia is still a country that imports energy. The price of electricity here is most affected by how much we can produce locally."

"Since we have had to import, this has been the main reason why our electricity prices have been higher, and wind energy is definitely one of the most competitive options at the moment. But solar energy with storage also plays a role. Essentially, it's a trifecta — wind farms, solar farms, and storage," Sutt went on.

He also highlighted the importance of communication with communities in relation to the construction of wind farms.

Sutt said that while the market had been moving rapidly, effective planning, communication with communities, and trusting scientific research had been crucial for success, especially in resolving conflicts between communities and developers.

He also said he does not see a future for electricity production from oil shale.
Sutt said that while oil shale ensures supply security, its future in electricity production is limited, and the focus will shift to clean energy after existing plants are phased out.

Sutt added that a special plan for a nuclear power plant would be initiated ahead of any further discussion.

Sutt was previously an IT and foreign trade minister 2021-2022, in the Kaja Kallas-led Reform-Center coalition.

Joller: Vision for healthcare needs to be made significantly clearer

Candidate for new Minister of Social Affairs, Karmen Joller, meanwhile stressed the need to create a concrete vision for healthcare.

She said: "We have a vague vision, but it actually needs to be made significantly clearer. Any healthcare institution leader must understand their role, what they do, and so on. At the moment, this is somewhat unclear, and I would like to specify it. I find this interesting."

Joller said her experience as a family doctor gives her strong insight into both the patient's and doctor's perspectives, as medical professionals address real concerns and various life and social issues.

She added that key decisions should involve medical professionals to ensure the focus remains on protecting and supporting a patient's interests.

Joller is a first-time minister.

Leis: Main goal is Rail Baltica

Another newcomer to government is Tartu2024 chief organizer Kuldar Leis, who is a candidate for Minister of Infrastructure, a role held by the Social Democrats in the last administration.

Leis told ER his main goal is to continue working on the development of the Rail Baltica high-speed link.

He said: "Since I am from South Estonia myself and can see how small our country is and how unevenly we have developed, such disparities should not exist in a country of this size. This means that, from an infrastructure perspective, it is viable to make changes so that Estonia is more evenly developed."

"Certainly, we need to continue working on the construction of Rail Baltica — that is the main aim. The activities that have been carried out so far must definitely continue," he added.

Leis also emphasized the importance of continuing the development of Estonia's highways, work which has drifted more in recent years due to budget constraints.

On this, he said: "On the one hand, it is a good thing that the Tallinn-Tartu highway has been built as a 2+2 road," meaning two lanes in each direction.

"On the other, the ideal would have been to drive the entire route at better speeds and with greater safety. And this does not only concern the Tallinn-Tartu highway but all three main routes in Estonia," the other two being the highways from Tallinn to Pärnu and to Narva.

"This needs to be addressed, and we need to find the necessary resources to complete these roads," Leis went on.

Leis also stated that the Tartu-Helsinki air connection is essential for Southern Estonians and should continue.

Igor Taro: Proper civil warning system crucial

Interior minister nominee Igor Taro, one of Eesti 200's two new ministers, said that the most important aspect of the job will be civil protection, including the full development of warning systems.

Public information on what to do in case of high alert is also lacking, he added, while a solution must be found to ensure that municipalities have sufficient shelters in case of an emergency.

"A sparsely populated area program was once created for rural regions, where part of the funding came from the state, part from the municipality, and part from citizens themselves," Taro said.

"I believe we could foster the same approach here, making it a joint effort where the state incentivizes this by tripling the government's contribution, achieving better results faster," he went on.

The source of funding for all this should become clear within the government in four to five weeks, he said.

Hendrik Johannes Terras: Roll back overregulation

Hendrik Johannes Terras, regional minister candidate, said he considers reducing overregulation in agriculture crucial to supporting domestic food producers, which in turn would help improve Estonia's food security.

"Where regulations have been adopted beyond the necessary conditions, we will roll them back to meet the requirements but not exceed them. If new regulations arise, we will ensure that they are implemented at the minimal level required. We will also participate in discussions when regulations are introduced to ensure competitive conditions for the agricultural sector," Terras said.

A unified transport ticketing system across Estonia would support rural living and encourage job creation outside Harju County, the most populous region of the country, Terras added.

Eesti 200 will need to substitute two new MPs

Since both Terras and Taro have been Riigikogu MPs up to now and government ministers do not sit at the Riigikogu, alternate Eesti 200 members will be needed to step up to the plate.

One of the next on the ordered party list is musician Stig Rästa, who told ERR that Eesti 200 party leader Kristina Kallas sounded him out at a concert in Stockholm on the potential opportunity for him to become an MP.

Rästa, who won 1,142 votes at the 2023 Riigikogu elections but did not win a seat in his own right, would not confirm or deny he would do so if the chance arose, noting that people are ahead of him on the list.

However, these two, Narva-Jõesuu Mayor Maksim Iljin and Tallinn Deputy Mayor Aleksei Jašin, have previously announced that they do not intend to leave their current positions to sit at the Riigikogu.

Editor's note: This piece was updated to include comments from Andres Sutt, Karmen Joller, Kuldar Leis, Igor Taro and Hendrik Terras.

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