Toomas Hendrik Ilves | |
---|---|
4th President of Estonia | |
In office 9 October 2006 – 10 October 2016 |
|
Prime Minister |
Andrus Ansip Taavi Rõivas |
Preceded by | Arnold Rüütel |
Succeeded by | Kersti Kaljulaid |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 25 March 1999 – 28 January 2002 |
|
Prime Minister | Mart Laar |
Preceded by | Raul Mälk |
Succeeded by | Kristiina Ojuland |
In office November 1996 – October 1998 |
|
Prime Minister |
Tiit Vähi Mart Siimann |
Preceded by | Siim Kallas |
Succeeded by | Raul Mälk |
Personal details | |
Born |
, Sweden |
26 December 1953
Political party |
Social Democratic Party (Before 2006) Independent (2006–present) |
Spouse(s) |
Merry Bullock (1981–2004) Evelin Int (2004–2015) Ieva Kupče (2016–present) |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater |
Columbia University University of Pennsylvania |
Signature |
Toomas Hendrik Ilves (Estonian pronunciation: [ˈtoːmɑs ˈhendrik ˈilves]; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth President of Estonia from 2006 until 2016. Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the 1990s. He served in the government as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 1998 and again from 1999 to 2002. Later, he was a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2006. He was elected as President of Estonia by an electoral college on 23 September 2006 and his term as President began on 9 October 2006. He was reelected by Parliament in 2011.
Ilves was born in , Sweden; his parents Endel and Irene Ilves were Estonian refugees. His maternal grandmother was Russian from Saint Petersburg. He grew up in the United States in Leonia, New Jersey, and graduated from Leonia High School in 1972 as valedictorian. He received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Columbia University in 1976 and a master's degree in the same subject from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978. He also received an honorary degree from St. Olaf College in 2014 in recognition of his relationship with the college. In addition to his native Estonian, Ilves also speaks English, German, Latvian and Spanish.