25 Facts About Kersti Kaljulaid

Kersti Kaljulaid was the youngest president, aged 46 at the time of her election.

Kersti Kaljulaid was nominated on 30 September 2016 by the majority of parliamentary parties as a joint candidate for president, and the only official candidate for the sixth round.

Kersti Kaljulaid was voted president on 3 October 2016, with 81 votes and 17 abstentions.

Kersti Kaljulaid is a member of Estonian female student corporation, Filiae Patriae.

Kersti Kaljulaid's thesis was titled as "Riigi poolt asutatud sihtasutuste juhtimissusteemi taiustamine" or "The improvement of the management system of state-founded foundations" in English.

From 1996 to 1997 Kersti Kaljulaid was a sales manager in state-owned telecom Eesti Telefon and from 1997 to 1998 a project manager in Hoiupanga Investeeringute AS.

From 1999 to 2002, Kersti Kaljulaid worked as the economic advisor of Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar.

Kersti Kaljulaid was the first woman to lead a power plant in Estonia.

In 2004, when Estonia joined the European Union, Kersti Kaljulaid was appointed the country's representative at the European Court of Auditors.

Since 2011, Kersti Kaljulaid has been the chairperson of the board of the University of Tartu.

Kersti Kaljulaid has spoken in support of strong civil society with less state interference, whilst placing high importance on helping those in need.

Kersti Kaljulaid holds liberal views on social issues such as LGBT rights and immigration.

Kersti Kaljulaid has often published opinion pieces in Estonian media, considering the position of Estonia in the European Union and on social and economical matters.

From 2001 to 2004, Kersti Kaljulaid was a member of the political party Pro Patria Union, a predecessor of the current Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, yet did not run in the elections.

On 19 September 2016, the freshly founded Development Monitoring Advisory Board at the chancellery of Estonian Parliament voted Kersti Kaljulaid to be its chair.

Riigikogu Speaker Eiki Nestor said that Kersti Kaljulaid undoubtedly had the required 68 votes from the 101-member Riigikogu, but the exact number remained to be seen.

Kersti Kaljulaid won the elections by 81 votes with 17 abstainers and no votes against her; the parliamentary party that had publicly declared not to support her was EKRE which had only 7 votes.

Nonetheless, Kersti Kaljulaid's election was seen as historic, as she was the first female head of state in the country's history.

Kersti Kaljulaid confronted the objection in her public letter and during several interviews by promising to become visible across the country, visiting different areas and talking to the people directly.

Nevertheless, Kersti Kaljulaid later confirmed that she would stand as a candidate for a second term in the election.

In 2021, Kersti Kaljulaid served on the advisory panel for the World Bank's World Development Report.

In 2017, Kersti Kaljulaid became the first Estonian to be featured in the Forbes magazine's list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women, placed at 78th, and came twenty second among the most influential female political leaders.

Kersti Kaljulaid has a daughter and a son from her first marriage.

Kersti Kaljulaid's half-brother, Raimond Kersti Kaljulaid, is a politician and member of parliament.

Besides Estonian, Kersti Kaljulaid is fluent in English, Finnish, French and to a certain extent, Russian.