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Eva-Maria Liimets

Eva-Maria Liimets at the Opinion Festival 2021 in Paide, Estonia

Eva-Maria Liimets (born 31 May 1974)[1] is an Estonian politician. She served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.[2][3] She was nominated by the Estonian Centre Party as an independent in January 2021 and officially joined the party on 9 June 2021.[4][5] Along with all seven cabinet ministers of the governing coalition’s junior partner, she was dismissed on 3 June 2022.[6]

Early life

She has a degree in public administration from the University of Tartu and a master’s degree in international business management (MBA) from the Estonian Business School.[1] She is a graduate of the 19th International Training Course in Security Policy at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP).[7]

Civil service

She served as Estonia's ambassador to the Czech Republic with credentials also to Slovenia and Croatia.[1][2]

Minister of Foreign Affairs (2021-2022)

Shortly after Liimets took office, the foreign ministry announced an "arctic month" starting from 28 January 2021, amid plans by Estonia to apply for observer status at the Arctic Council in 2021. "Developments in the Arctic should be a concern for everyone, as the climate change there affects the whole world," Liimets said.[8] Shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in December 2021 Liimets stated that there needed to be sanctions against Russia for its "potential aggression" on Ukraine's borders and said Russia was a security threat.[9] After the start of the invasion, Liimets became a strong supporter of Ukraine stating that there must be international pressure on Russia.[10] She also supported the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO.[10]

Post-ministerial career

Since leaving the post she has been ESTDEV's programme manager for Democracy and the Rule of Law, where she has supported Ukraine's accession to the European Union.[11] In January 2024, she left the Centre Party citing too much confusion in the party's image and messages and the departure of like-minded people in the party.[12]

Personal life

Liimets is divorced and is the mother of one child.[13] In addition to her native Estonian, she speaks English, German, Italian, and Russian.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Eva-Maria Liimets". Estonia Government. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b "New foreign minister wants to bring her expertise to Center and government". ERR. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Estonia politics: Kaja Kallas to become Baltic nation's first female prime minister". Euronews. 24 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  4. ^ Turovski, Marcus (24 January 2021). "From prefect to interior minister: Jaani to help Center beat corruption". ERR. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Foreign, interior ministers join Center Party". ERR News. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Estonian PM removes coalition partner from government". edmontonsun. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Estonian Ambassador to the Czech Republic Eva-Maria Liimets presents her credentials". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  8. ^ BNS/TBT Staff (28 January 2021). "Estonian ForMin launches month-long series of Arctic-themed events". The Baltic Times. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Liimets: EU must respond to potential aggression on Ukraine's border". ERR. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  10. ^ a b Brennan, David (14 May 2022). "Weakened Russia Could See Democracy Replace Putin Regime—Estonia". Newsweek. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  11. ^ ""You are not alone!" — Estonia shares EU accession experience with Ukraine and Moldova". ESTDEV. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  12. ^ "Keskerakonnast lahkub ka endine välisminister Eva-Maria Liimets". Postimees (in Estonian). 5 January 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Eva-Maria Liimets". www.valitsus.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 5 April 2025.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
2021–2022 		Succeeded by