Ülle Madise has been elected as the new President of Estonia.

Ülle Madise has been elected as the new President of Estonia.

Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise was elected President of Estonia at an extraordinary session of the Parliament. 71 of the 101 members of parliament voted for her candidacy, exceeding the required minimum of 68 votes.

The election was held without alternative candidates, following a preliminary agreement between four of the six parliamentary parties. Madise will succeed Alar Karis, whose five-year term ends in October.

Ülle Madise, born December 11, 1974, is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at the University of Tartu. She has served as Chancellor of Justice since 2015. She is considered an independent, non-partisan lawyer in Estonian political circles. Previously, on legal issues, Madise has expressed support for sanctions against Russia, but has also emphasized that Russian citizenship does not deprive a person of the right to have their case reviewed individually. "When introducing and implementing sanctions, the constitution, legal certainty, legitimate expectations, and equal treatment still apply," she stated, also opposing the perception of Russian-speaking residents of the country as a security threat.

Meanwhile, the largest opposition party, the Centre Party, refused to participate in the vote. Lauri Laats, the chair of its parliamentary faction, explained this by saying that the candidate was introduced to the public only two weeks before the election, and citizens had no opportunity to thoroughly familiarize themselves with her position. Estonia is a parliamentary republic, so the president's powers are largely limited to representative and formal functions.