Analyst Rainer Saks to take up post of president's security adviser
Security expert Rainer Saks will join President-elect Ülle Madise's team as national defense and security adviser, ruling out a run for Parempoolsed in next spring's Riigikogu elections.
Official confirmation arrived Tuesday morning: Rainer Saks will join President-elect Ülle Madise's team as national defense and security adviser.
Madise said in a press release that Saks has a nuanced understanding of the dynamics of international relations and the rapidly changing security landscape.
Saks said in the same release that Madise's offer to join her team came as somewhat of a surprise. "In the current situation, it is impossible to say 'no' to the president of the republic when you are asked to work for a more secure future for your country."
Saks' move to the Office of the President means he will not be able to run for the Parempoolsed party in next spring's Riigikogu elections. Saks has been one of the non-parliamentary party's best-known figures and his decision not to run is undoubtedly a blow to the party.
Support for Parempoolsed in recent polls by various polling companies has ranged from 7 to 9 percent, comfortably above the electoral threshold.
Rainer Saks served as director of the Office of the President from 2006 to 2011. He was also director general of the Information Board (now the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service — ed.). He later served as secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
More recently, he has gained public attention as a commentator on security issues, particularly the war in Ukraine.
He joined Parempoolsed in spring 2024 and ran on the party's ticket in the European Parliament elections. He received 12,384 votes but was not elected. Saks' vote total was the seventh highest overall, putting him ahead of, for example, Sven Mikser, who received 9,991 votes and won a seat in the European Parliament on the strength of fellow party member Marina Kaljurand's strong result of 45,633 votes.
Last Saturday, it was announced that Harrys Puusepp will serve as Ülle Madise's communications adviser. It had previously been announced that Paavo Nõgene will take up the post of director of Madise's office.
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Urmet Kook, Marcus Turovski
