18 Facts About Mart Laar

Mart Laar served as the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1992 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2002.

Mart Laar is a member of the centre-right Isamaa party.

Mart Laar studied history at the University of Tartu, graduating in 1983; he received his master's degree in philosophy and his doctorate in history in 2005.

Mart Laar taught history in Tallinn, and served as president of the Council of Historians of the Foundation of the Estonia Inheritance, the Society for the Preservation of Estonian History, and the Estonian Students' Society.

Mart Laar was elected prime minister by the Riigikogu on 21 October 1992.

In barely two years, from 1992 to 1994, the radical reforming Estonian government of Mart Laar was the first in Europe to introduce the flat tax, privatized most national industry in transparent public tenders, abolished tariffs and subsidies, stabilized the economy and balanced the budget.

Five years later, in 1999, Mart Laar returned to the post, with his main policy goals being to pull the economy out of a slump and lead the country toward the European Union.

Mart Laar remained in the post until he stepped down in 2002.

Mart Laar apologized for this event as Prime Minister and army officer.

Mart Laar is member of Honorary Board of the European Association of History Educators.

Mart Laar is a member of the international advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

Mart Laar is a member of the International Council of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation and a founding member of the Unitas Foundation.

In 2003, Mart Laar received the Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award brought about the development of electronic systems in Estonia to upgrade the country's infrastructure.

In September 2006, Mart Laar announced that he would come out of political retirement to run for the candidacy for prime minister of the new Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica party.

On 18 February 2012 Mart Laar suffered from a stroke and stepped down as Defence Minister three months later.

Until October 2012 Mart Laar had still been staying out of the public eye, but was reportedly recovering.

In 2001, Mart Laar was given the complementary award of Year's Press Enemy.

In January 2012, Mart Laar became a meme, when in the heat of the ACTA discussion in Estonia, he explained the disappearance of ACTA-related posts from his Facebook page with "lack of space" in Facebook.