Estonian parliament elects Ulle Madise as next president

Estonia’s parliament elected Chancellor of Justice Ulle Madise as the country’s next president Wednesday, according to Estonian public broadcaster ERR.

Madise received 71 votes in a secret ballot, surpassing the 68 votes required to win the presidency.

Seven ballots were left unmarked, while none were declared invalid.

A total of 78 members of the 101-seat parliament, known as the Riigikogu, took part in the vote.

“I will do my best to be worthy of this trust,” Madise told lawmakers after the result was announced.

“I hope that through mutual understanding, debating vigorously when necessary while still supporting one another, we can accomplish a great deal together for Estonia, so that life in Estonia is happy, good and safe,” she added.

Madise will become Estonia’s seventh president and the second woman to serve as head of state.

She will be sworn into office Oct. 12.

She will succeed Alar Karis, who announced in June that he would not seek a second term.

Karis congratulated Madise following the vote.

“Serving as head of state is a great honour and an even greater responsibility. I wish you strength, wisdom and resolve,” he wrote on US social media platform X.

Madise, born Ulle Anton on Dec. 11, 1974, in Tartu, is a lawyer and legal scholar who has served as chancellor of justice since 2015.

She studied law at the University of Tartu and completed a doctorate in administrative management at Tallinn University of Technology in 2007.

Madise previously worked at Estonia’s Ministry of Justice, advised the Riigikogu Constitutional Committee and served as chief auditor at the National Audit Office.

From 2009 to 2015, she was legal adviser to then-President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

She also taught public and constitutional law at several Estonian universities.

As chancellor of justice, Madise has focused on individual liberties and legal oversight, and has maintained a non-partisan role.

She is married to Lauri Madise, a judge at the General Court of the EU.