The head of state is being accompanied by First Lady Sirje Karis on the whistle-stop tour, which takes in Germany, Poland and Sweden, as well as Finland, Latvia and Lithuania.

The purpose is to thank the heads of state in these lands for their close, trusting and friendly cooperation during Karis' term, which started in 2021, and to reaffirm these alliances for the future.

"In my role as head of state, I have learned over the past five years that it is in the most difficult moments that you realize who your friends are and how much trust is worth," President Karis remarked.

"Estonia has been lucky: We are surrounded by countries with which we have far more in common than just geography. We are united by shared values and security, a sense of responsibility for the future of our region, and a warm friendship that has developed over the years. Those values are held by people who know how to listen to one another and whose word you can trust. That is what I would like to express my gratitude for as my time in office comes to an end," the president went on via a press release.

Estonia is linked to all of the countries he will be visiting by close bilateral relations and everyday cooperation within the EU and NATO, as well as the additional links to Finland, Sweden, Latvia and Lithuania via the Nordic-Baltic or NB8 cooperation, which is only growing in significance.

He underscored the role played in Europe's security by each of the countries he is visiting, as well as their contribution to strengthening NATO's eastern flank and their support for Ukraine, as well as the fruitful relations Estonia enjoys with them in the spheres of education, culture and the economy.

"Recent years have shown us just how important it is to have friends and allies by your side with whom you share a common understanding of European security, freedom and a rules-based world order," the president continued. "Russia's aggression against Ukraine has boosted our cooperation even further, and brought the nations of the Baltic Sea region closer together than ever before."

The final round of visits really started at the end of August with an official visit to Latvia, hosted by President Edgars Rinkēvičs. This was followed by the 81st UN General Assembly in New York last week, which the president attended.

The presidential couple have already this week met with Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Mrs Elke Büdenbender in Berlin, followed on the Tuesday by trips to Warsaw, meeting President Karol Tadeusz Nawrocki and Marta Nawrocki, and to Lithuania, where they were received by President Gitanas Nausėda and First Lady Diana Nausėdienė in Vilnius.

Still to come is a visit with President Alexander Stubb and Suzanne Innes-Stub in Helsinki on Thursday evening, rounded off on Friday by a trip across the Baltic to Stockholm, where Alar and Sirje Karis will be hosted by King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden.

Alar Karis became head of state in October 2021 and formally hands over the presidency to Ülle Madise on Monday, October 12 this year.

Ülle Madise's replacement as justice chancellor still needs appointing

One aspect of the succession which is being clarified is how the next Chancellor of Justice will be chosen and by whom. Since Madise is the incumbent chancellor, it is not clear yet if she will nominate her successor, or if President Karis will do it ahead of leaving office.

Epp-Mare Kukemelk, spokesperson for the Office of the President, told ERR "The head of state will submit a proposal for a candidate for chancellor of justice to the Riigikogu in the coming weeks".

The Chancellor of Justice is appointed by the Riigikogu at the proposal of the president, for a seven-year term. Madise was several years into her second term when she was elected head of state.

MP Madis Timpson (Reform), who chairs the Riigikogu Legal Affairs Committee, noted it would be wise for the potential nomination to be run past the Riigikogu factions first, though no such discussions have yet taken place between the committee and the president.

Timpson noted there are "certainly quite a few people in Estonia whose knowledge, experience and professional background would enable them to perform the duties of chancellor of justice very well" and stressed the need for political neutrality for that office.

Madise was elected Estonia's next president in the first round of voting at the Riigikogu on September 2.

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