Taavi Veskimägi
Encyclopedia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n politician and the managing director of the Estonian electric power transmission system operator Elering
Elering
Elering is an electric power transmission system operator in Estonia. Elering was established on 1 November 1998 under the name of Põhivõrk as an operating unit of the Estonian national power company Eesti Energia. On 1 April 2004, it became a private limited company, OÜ Põhivõrk, as a subsidiary...
.
He is a former Minister of Finance (2003–2005) and one of the two former co-Chairmen of the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica
Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica
Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica is an Estonian Liberal Conservative political party. It was founded on 4 June 2006 when two conservative parties, Pro Patria Union and Res Publica merged. Up to the 2007 parliamentary elections, the party held 32 seats out of 101 in the Riigikogu and one of...
(2006–2007).
Education
After graduation from secondary school 1993 in RaplaRapla
Rapla is a town in central Estonia, the administrative centre of Rapla County and Rapla Parish. It has a population of 5,618 .-External links:*...
Veskimägi continued his studies in Tallinn University of Technology
Tallinn University of Technology
Tallinn University of Technology is the only university of technology in Estonia, and one of the three most important institutions of higher education in Estonia generally. It is located in the capital city of Tallinn, Estonia...
, but switched in 1994 to Pedagogical University of Tallinn. He graduated in 1998 as a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in public administration.
Party career
Since 1994, he has been a member of the Res Publica PartyRes Publica Party
Res Publica Party was a political party in Estonia that self-identified as conservative and therefore member of IDU, but considering its vague platform for 2003 election, the genuineness of this ideology is disputed...
. At first it was a socio-political organisation, becoming a political party only on 8 December 2001. From 2001 to 2002 he served as a Treasurer of the party and was elected a Chairman in 2005 after the resignation of the former Chairman and Prime Minister of Estonia, Juhan Parts
Juhan Parts
Juhan Parts is an Estonian politician who was Prime Minister of Estonia from 2003 to 2005. He was chairman of the Res Publica Party for a time. Since 5 April 2007 he is the Minister of Economy and Communication in Andrus Ansip's second government...
.
As the Chairman of the Res Publica he faced the difficult task to restore the reputation of his party that was lost during the last 2 years in government or to lead the party into merger with another right-wing party. Local elections on 16 October 2005 showed a declining support for Res Publica. The party lost 13 of its 17 seats in Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
City Council and was forced into opposition in the capital. In April 2006 plans were unveiled for merging Res Publica with Pro Patria Union. The annual congresses voted in favour of the merger on 4 June 2006. The new party was named Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica
Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica
Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica is an Estonian Liberal Conservative political party. It was founded on 4 June 2006 when two conservative parties, Pro Patria Union and Res Publica merged. Up to the 2007 parliamentary elections, the party held 32 seats out of 101 in the Riigikogu and one of...
and was led by two chairmen – Tõnis Lukas
Tõnis Lukas
Tõnis Lukas is an Estonian politician. He is a Vice-Chairman of the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica.-Early career:Lukas was born in Tallinn, Estonia. After graduating from secondary school and spending another year in technical school in Tallinn, he went on to study history in University of...
and Taavi Veskimägi. At the congress that took place on 26 May 2007 Mart Laar
Mart Laar
Mart Laar is an Estonian statesman, historian and a founding member of the Foundation for the Investigation of Communist Crimes. He was the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1992 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2002, and is the leader of the conservative party Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica...
was elected a new chairman of the party and Taavi Veskimägi continued to serve in capacity of a member of the party board.
At the Riigikogu, Taavi Veskimägi worked both in the parliamentary financial committee and parliamentary committee of European Union affairs.
From 2003 until 2005 Taavi Veskimägi was the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Estonia. In 2003 Taavi Veskimägi became member of the Estonian Parliament and leader of the Res Publica parliamentary group before he was appointed Estonian Minister of Finance. He held the position of Vice President of the Parliament from 2005 to 2006 and until 2007 he was the co-chairman of the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, the main centre-right political party in Estonia.
Taavi Veskimägi is CEO of Estonian electricity transmission operator Elering. He is also member of the Board of Estonian Defense Industry Union.