As President Putin strategizes about the Near Abroad and as he acts in Ukraine, one’s attention quite naturally turns also to Estonia, the geographically closest of the Baltic States to Russia.  On one hand, Estonia is a member of NATO and the European Union and on the other, about 25% of the population is Russian speaking.  Estonia understands political pressure, having been victim of a cyber-attack.  As the United States continues to ponder the significance of Mr. Putin’s gambits in Ukraine, the realistic concerns and analyses of Estonia can be extraordinarily helpful.

Ambassador Kaljurand brings the perspectives of a nation under perpetual pressure, the sensitivities of having spoken Russian at home, a thorough legal education, and a diplomatic career in post-Soviet Estonia.

The Ambassador earned a Law degree from the University of Tartu.  Having opted for a diplomatic career in 1991, she took courses in the Training Program in Foreign Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh and in international treaties law at the University of Lapland (Finland).  She is a graduate from the Estonian School of Diplomacy in international treaties law; and holds an M.A. degree in International Law and Diplomacy from Tufts University (via a Fulbright Scholarship).  She also studied Government, Law, and the EU at the Civil Service College in London; and focused on the Delimitation of Land and Maritime Boundaries at the University of Durham.

In the Foreign Ministry, she served as the Director of the International Treaties Office of the Legal Department of the Foreign Ministry, where she worked on the agreement governing the withdrawal of Russian troops from Estonia.  She has been Executive Director of the Legal Department, and head of the legal working group helping to bring Estonia into the E.U.  As Undersecretary for Foreign Economic Relations and Development Aid, she was Estonia’s chief negotiator in talks to bring Estonia into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 

Mrs. Kaljurand served as Estonian Ambassador to Russia from 2005-2008.  She was also Ambassador to Israel (non-resident) and to Kazakhstan (non-resident).  She has been Ambassador to the United States since September of 2011.