Pavo Raudsepp elected chairman of People's Unity Party
The non-parliamentary People's Unity Party (RÜE) on Saturday elected former Olympic cross-country skier Pavo Raudsepp as its new chairman.
Raudsepp is taking over the position from former Estonian foreign minister Kristiina Ojuland, who founded the party four years ago.
According to an RÜE press release, Raudsepp attaches great importance to the preservation of the Estonian nation and language, as well as to the traditional family as a mainstay of society.
"RÜE is a pioneer in Estonian politics in electing a person from among the people, a person from real life as leader of the party," Ojuland said.
Raudsepp is a former top cross-country skier who has won several Estonian championships and was part of the Estonian team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Raudsepp has been active in politics since the late 1990s and has served several terms on the municipal council in Tamsalu.
Ojuland, then a member of the Reform Party served as Estonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002-2005 and as MEP from 2009-2014.
Established in 2014, RÜE has never won seats in the Riigikogu, receiving just 0.4 percent of the vote in the last Riigikogu elections in 2015.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS
