Kaja Kallas To Be Estonia's First Female Prime Minister

Kaja Kallas. (Source: Wikimedia Commons / Stinneloo)

JAKARTA - Estonia will make history, along with the agreement between the two largest political parties in the country to appoint Kaja Kallas (43) as the new Prime Minister. This is the first time the country's government has been led by women.

The center-right Reformasi Party and the leftist Central Party, which is an opposition party, agreed to elect Kallas to replace the old cabinet led by Juri Ratas, which was involved in a corruption case.

Later, the two parties will receive seven ministerial seats in addition to the post of prime minister, out of a total of 15 people in the government cabinet. As well as being the majority with 105 seats in the Riigikogu Parliament, reported Euronews.

Earlier this year, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid was expected to appoint Kallas as prime minister, in line with the worsening situation of the corona virus pandemic in the country.

Not to mention the economic turmoil due to the pandemic and corruption scandal, making Kaljulaid, who is the first woman president in this country, even more convinced to appoint Kallas. Even the political party led by Kallas, the center-right Reform Party won the 2019 Estonian Election.

Kaja Kallas. (Twitter / kajakallas)

Kaja Kallas is a lawyer and former member of the European Parliament, the daughter of Siim Kallas who is one of the founders of the Reform Party, the former Prime Minister of Estonia and a former Commissioner of the European Union. Kaja Kallas has led the Reform Party since 2018.

A number of key positions in the Kaja Kallas cabinet will also be held by women, namely the Minister of Finance who will be held by the politician from the Keit Pentus-Rosimannus Reform Party and the Minister of Foreign Affairs who will be held by diplomacy Eva-Maria Liimets.

To note, despite winning the 2019 elections, Kallas and the Reform Party did not succeed in holding the government. The Jury Ratas with the support of a three-party coalition, without the Reform Party succeeded in forming a government.

Ratas and his cabinet resigned on January 13 over a scamdal involving top party officials who were suspected of accepting personal donations to the party. In return, political assistance for real estate development in the port district of the Estonian capital, Tallinn.