Editing Politics of Estonia (section)

==History==
{{main|Political history of Estonia}}
[[File:Die Verfassung der Republik Estland (1937) Seite 01.jpg|thumb|German translation of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia]]
The [[Estonian Declaration of Independence]] was issued on 21 February 1918. A parliamentary republic was formed by the [[Estonian Constituent Assembly]] and the first [[Constitution of Estonia]] was adopted on 15 June 1920. The [[Parliament of Estonia]] (State Assembly) elected a [[Riigivanem]] who acted both as [[Head of Government]] and [[Head of State]]. During the [[Era of Silence]], political parties were banned and the parliament was not in session between 1934 and 1938 because the country was ruled by [[decree]] of [[Konstantin Päts]], who was elected as the first [[President of Estonia]] in 1938. In 1938 a new constitution was passed and the Parliament of Estonia was convened once again, this time [[bicameral]]ly, consisting of [[Riigivolikogu]] ([[lower house]]) and [[Riiginõukogu]] ([[upper house]]), both meaning State Council in direct translation. In 1940, Estonia was occupied by the [[Soviet Union]]. It was soon followed by the [[German occupation of Estonia during World War II|German occupation of 1941–1944]]. During the course of the two occupations, legal institutions, elected according to the Estonian constitution, were removed from power. In September 1944, after German forces left, legal power was briefly restored, as [[Otto Tief]] formed a new government in accordance with the 1938 constitution. The Tief government lasted for only five days, as Estonia was again occupied by the [[Soviet Union]]. [[Estonia]] declared independence in 1991 as the Republic of Estonia on the basis of continuity of the constitution prior to 1938, putting into motion the transition from a state socialist economy to a capitalist market economy; in 1992, [[1992 Estonian referendum|the public approved]] a new constitution. On 1 May 2004, Estonia was accepted into the [[European Union]].<ref name=":0"/> On 1 January 2011, Estonia joined the [[eurozone]] and adopted the EU single currency as the first former Soviet Union state.<ref>{{cite news |title=Estonia becomes 17th member of the euro zone |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-12098513 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=31 December 2010 |access-date=8 March 2023}}</ref>

=== Recent political developments ===
The leader of the [[Reform Party (Estonia)|Reform Party]] [[Andrus Ansip]] was the Prime Minister of Estonia from 2005 until 2014. By the end of his nine-year tenure he was the longest-serving prime minister in the European Union.<ref>{{cite news |title=Estonia PM Ansip resigns – Europe's longest-serving PM |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26430899 |publisher=BBC News |date=4 March 2014 |access-date=8 March 2023}}</ref> In August 2011, [[President of Estonia]] [[Toomas Hendrik Ilves]], in office since 2006, was re-elected.<ref>{{cite news |title=U.S.-educated Estonian president re-elected |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-estonia-president-idUSTRE77S2HA20110829 |publisher=[[Reuters]] |date=29 August 2011}}</ref> In March 2014, after the resignation of Ansip, [[Taavi Rõivas]] of the Reform Party became new prime minister. 34-year-old Rõivas was the youngest prime minister in Europe at that time.<ref>{{cite web|date=27 March 2014|title=Estonia swears in youngest EU Prime Minister|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/elections/news/estonia-swears-in-youngest-eu-prime-minister/}}</ref> In March 2015, the ruling Reform party, led by Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas, won the [[2015 Estonian parliamentary election|parliamentary election]]<ref>{{cite news|date=2 March 2015|title=Estonia's ruling Reform Party wins election victory|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31681293}}</ref> In October 2016, Estonian parliament elected [[Kersti Kaljulaid]] as the new President of Estonia. She was the first female president of Estonia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Surprise candidate elected as Estonia's first female president &#124; DW &#124; 03.10.2016|url=https://www.dw.com/en/surprise-candidate-elected-as-estonias-first-female-president/a-35950066|website=DW.COM}}</ref> In November 2016, the new chairman of the [[Centre Party (Estonia)|Centre Party]] [[Jüri Ratas]] became the new Prime Minister of Estonia. He succeeded prime minister Rõivas whose government lost a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.<ref>{{cite news|date=20 November 2016|title=Center-left leader nominated as Estonia's next PM|publisher=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-estonia-government-nomination-idUSKBN13F0EK}}</ref>

In the [[2019 Estonian parliamentary election|parliamentary election of 2019]], five parties gained seats at Riigikogu. The head of the [[Estonian Centre Party|Centre Party]], [[Jüri Ratas]], [[Jüri Ratas' second cabinet|formed the government]] together with [[Conservative People's Party of Estonia|Conservative People's Party]] and [[Isamaa]], while [[Estonian Reform Party|Reform Party]] and [[Social Democratic Party (Estonia)|Social Democratic Party]] became the opposition.<ref>{{cite news|last=Vahtla|first=Aili|date=24 April 2019|title=Party ratings: Despite opposition status, Reform remains most popular party|publisher=[[Eesti Rahvusringhääling]]|url=https://news.err.ee/933037/party-ratings-despite-opposition-status-reform-remains-most-popular-party|access-date=13 January 2020}}</ref> On January 13, 2021, Ratas resigned as prime minister in the wake of a corruption scandal.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tambur|first=Silver|date=13 January 2021|title=Estonia's prime minister Jüri Ratas resigns, Kaja Kallas asked to form the government|url=https://estonianworld.com/security/a-political-crisis-in-estonia-prime-minister-juri-ratas-resigns/}}</ref>

On 26 January 2021, [[Estonian Reform Party|Reform Party]] leader [[Kaja Kallas]] became Estonia's first [[List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government|female prime minister]], making Estonia the only country in the world to currently be led by both a female President and Prime Minister.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hankewitz|first=Sten|date=2021-01-26|title=Estonia becomes the only country in the world led by women|url=https://estonianworld.com/life/estonia-becomes-the-only-country-in-the-world-led-by-women/|access-date=2021-01-26|website=Estonian World|language=en-GB}}</ref> The [[Kaja Kallas' first cabinet|new government]] was a two-party coalition between country's two biggest political parties Reform Party and Centre Party.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Estonia to get first female prime minister &#124; DW &#124; 24.01.2021|url=https://www.dw.com/en/estonia-to-get-first-female-prime-minister/a-56330397|website=DW.COM}}</ref>  However, [[Alar Karis]] was sworn in as Estonia's sixth President on October 11, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/12/alar-karis-sworn-in-as-estonia-s-new-president|title=Alar Karis sworn in as Estonia's new president|date=October 12, 2021|website=euronews}}</ref> In July 2022, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas formed a new three-party coalition by her liberal Reform Party, the Social Democrats and the conservative Isamaa party. Her previous government had lost its parliamentary majority after the center-left Center Party left the coalition.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Welle (www.dw.com) |first1=Deutsche |title=Estonia: New cabinet sworn into office {{!}} DW {{!}} 18.07.2022 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/estonia-new-cabinet-sworn-into-office/a-62514862 |work=DW.COM}}</ref>

In March 2023, the Reform party, led by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, won the parliamentary [[2023 Estonian parliamentary election|election]], taking 31,4% of the vote. Far-right Conservative People's Party came second with 16,1 % and the third was the Centre Party with 15% of the vote.<ref>{{cite news |title=Estonia's centre-right Reform Party comes first in general election |url=https://www.euronews.com/2023/03/06/estonias-centre-right-reform-party-comes-first-in-parliamentary-elections |work=euronews |date=6 March 2023 |language=en}}</ref> In April 2023, Kallas formed her third government, which included, in addition to Reform Party, also the liberal [[Estonia 200]] and the Social Democratic (SDE) parties.<ref>{{cite news |title=Estonia: Kaja Kallas's third government |url=https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2023-04-13/estonia-kaja-kallass-third-government |work=OSW Centre for Eastern Studies |date=13 April 2023 |language=en}}</ref> In July 2024, [[Kristen Michal]] became Estonia's new prime minister to succeed Kaja Kallas, who resigned as prime minister on July 15 to become the European Union's new [[High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Estonia’s parliament backs Kristen Michal as new PM |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/estonia-parliament-backs-kristen-michal-new-prime-minister/ |work=POLITICO |date=22 July 2024}}</ref>

According to the [[V-Dem Democracy indices]] Estonia was 2023 the 5th most electoral democratic country in the world.<ref name="vdem_dataset">{{cite web |last=V-Dem Institute |date=2023 |title=The V-Dem Dataset |url=https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |access-date=14 October 2023}}</ref>