The corresponding proposal was submitted by Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur.

Kuusk's departure from office was prompted by the imminent change of minister. Namely, Martin Herem — who has been put forward as the candidate for defense minister — set as one of his conditions for taking the post that the current permanent secretary of the Ministry of Defense, Kaimo Kuusk, would leave, so that the new minister would have freer hands in personnel decisions.

A ministry secretary general (permanent secretary) can be dismissed from service if, in the minister's assessment, cooperation between the minister and the secretary general does not function. The Public Service Act states that a secretary general may not be dismissed from service before six months have passed since the beginning of the minister's and secretary general's cooperation.

Kuusk himself stated in a letter to Ministry of Defense employees on Tuesday that he would not submit a resignation request and that the government must dismiss him from office.

Hanno Pevkur, who is also stepping down, but for now still serving as defense minister, said on the proposal to dismiss Kuusk that the leadership of national defense cannot be in a situation where there is no basic trust and ability to cooperate between the minister and the ministry's highest official.

"Defense minister candidate Martin Herem has unequivocally ruled out cooperation with Kaimo Kuusk. In a situation where the prime minister wants to see Herem as the next defense minister, this decision must also be looked at substantively — national defense development cannot remain hostage to mutual distrust between the minister and the permanent secretary," Pevkur said.

According to Pevkur, in the current security situation it is not justified to knowingly leave a conflict in the leadership of the Ministry of Defense that would begin to affect the ministry's and the entire national defense leadership.

"Estonia does not currently have the luxury of spending the next six months on internal power struggles. If the next defense minister's position is that cooperation with the current permanent secretary is not possible, then a decision must be made that allows national defense leadership to move forward," Pevkur noted.

At the same time, Pevkur emphasized that the decision does not diminish the importance of Kaimo Kuusk's work to date or his contribution to Estonia's national defense.

Stated reason is failure of cooperation

Kuusk's last working day as permanent secretary of the Ministry of Defense is 15 September. Kuusk has served as permanent secretary of the Ministry of Defense since 1 September 2024.

The stated reason for the dismissal, according to the explanatory note, is the minister's brief assessment that cooperation between him and the permanent secretary had not been functioning.

The explanatory note is very short and indirect regarding the grounds for Kuusk's removal. It can be inferred that the reason was the breakdown of cooperation with Minister Hanno Pevkur.

"Under § 55 (1) of the Government of the Republic Act, the secretary general is dismissed by the government on the proposal of the minister. Under § 96 (1) of the Public Service Act (ATS), a ministry's secretary general may be dismissed prematurely due to failure of cooperation."

This general statement essentially constitutes the entire justification. The document does not explain how or why cooperation failed.

The rest is a technocratic description of when Kuusk began his work and when the six‑month cooperation period with Pevkur was completed.

By law, a secretary general cannot be dismissed during the first six months after cooperation with the minister begins. For Kuusk, this period ended on 2 March last year.

Kuusk was notified of his dismissal on 9 September via the ministry's document‑management system. He was given the opportunity to submit comments or objections by 10 September. Kuusk confirmed the same day that he had reviewed the notice and the draft dismissal decision and taken note of it.

A secretary general must generally be notified of dismissal at least 30 calendar days in advance. This period would have ended on 9 October. In Kuusk's case, the deadline is not being followed, as his last working day is already 15 September. He will therefore receive compensation for the missing portion of the notice period.

In addition, Kuusk will receive compensation for the remaining months of his term, though by law such compensation may not exceed six months' salary. He will also be compensated for unused, non‑expired annual leave. As of 15 September, Kuusk has 3.74 days of unused leave.

SDE leader turns to justice chancellor

Social Democratic Party (SDE) Chair Lauri Läänemets sent a written request to the chancellor of justice on Thursday, asking for a review of the legality of Kaimo Kuusk's dismissal.

Läänemets asked the chancellor of justice to assess whether the actions of the government and the defense minister comply with the Government of the Republic Act, the Civil Service Act, the principle of good administration and the principle of a professional and politically independent civil service.

"In my view, the issue concerns more than simply the termination of one permanent secretary's employment. At a fundamental level, the situation raises the question of whether protections granted to the civil service by law can effectively be circumvented following a change in political power through a decision that appears formally correct and whether the power to dismiss a civil servant may be used to implement agreements made in the interests of a political party," Läänemets explained.

The article was updated Saturday, 12 September, with details on how Kuusk's dismissal was justified.

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