Estonian Prime Minister Kaia Kalas has resigned from her post to become the European Union's high representative for foreign policy later this year, AP reported, quoted by BTA.
Kalas, who is the first female Prime Minister of Estonia, today officially handed in her resignation to President Alar Karis during a brief meeting at the Presidential Palace in the capital Tallinn.
Under Kalas, Estonia has become one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Summarizing the results of her three and a half year rule, Estonian President Karis told the news agency Baltic News Service that "it has been a time full of crises, turning points such as the coronavirus pandemic, economic recession and war in Europe, after as Russia destroyed the previous security environment with its aggression in Ukraine".
Kalas' resignation automatically leads to the resignation of her three-party government, made up of her center-right Reform Party, the Social Democratic Party and the liberal Estonia 200 party. The cabinet will continue to function as a caretaker government until the new government is sworn in, which is likely to happen at the end of this month or early next.
The Reform Party announced on June 29 that it had chosen its long-time functionary and climate minister Kristen Michal as its candidate to be the next prime minister to replace Callas, whose last official engagement was attending the NATO summit in Washington last week.
Michal's nomination will have to be approved by President Karis and the 101-seat parliament, called the Riigikogu, where the ruling coalition has a solid majority.