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Juhan Parts

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Juhan Parts
Parts in 2012
15th Prime Minister of Estonia
In office
10 April 2003 – 12 April 2005
PresidentArnold Rüütel
Preceded bySiim Kallas
Succeeded byAndrus Ansip
Minister of Economic Affairs
and Communications
In office
5 April 2007 – 26 March 2014
Prime MinisterAndrus Ansip
Preceded byEdgar Savisaar
Succeeded byUrve Palo
(Economic Affairs and Infrastructure)
Anne Sulling (Foreign Trade and Entrepreneurship)
Personal details
Born (1966-08-27) 27 August 1966 (age 58)
Tallinn, Estonia
Political partyRes Publica Party (2001–2006)
Pro Patria and Res Publica Union
(2006–present)
Spouse(s)Merle Parts (1987)
Daisy Tauk (2002–present)
Children4
Alma materUniversity of Tartu

Juhan Parts ((Estonian pronunciation: [ˈjuhɑnʲ ˈpɑrtʲːːsʲ], born 27 August 1966)[1] is an Estonian politician who was Prime Minister of Estonia from 2003 to 2005[2] and Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications from 2007 to 2014. Juhan Parts is a member of Isamaa party.

Education

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Born in Tallinn, Juhan Parts completed Gustav Adolf Grammar School in Tallinn (then Tallinn Secondary School No. 1). Afterwards, he studied law at the University of Tartu in Tartu, Estonia.

Early career

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Juhan Parts

After completing his university education, Parts instantly joined the Ministry of Justice. He soon became known as a young, dynamic figure[according to whom?] who wanted to push for reforms. As an ally of Deputy Minister Mihkel Oviir, he was appointed Auditor General in the spring of 1998. He held this office until 2002. From this virtually unimpeachable office, unique in the Estonian Constitution, he frequently criticised the government and became somewhat of a popular figure in Estonian politics.

Political career

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Parts became the chairman of a new party, called Res Publica, which he was instrumental in starting. It is a largely technocratic party which can be described as an economically liberal party of young administrators. Res Publica now is a member of the right-of-centre European People's Party organisation.

Prime Minister of Estonia, 2003–2005

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In the Riigikogu (Estonian parliament) elections in 2003, Parts surprisingly gained a majority among the right-of-centre parties, and as a result, he was charged to form a new government coalition and became Prime Minister of Estonia. The new government took office on 10 April 2003.

On 24 March 2005, Parts stepped down as prime minister after a vote of no confidence against Minister of Justice Ken-Marti Vaher had passed the Riigikogu. Vaher had established a quota system of how many civil servants had to be prosecuted every year (per county), which is seen as reminiscent of Stalinist purges by many Estonians, a measure that Parts had endorsed.

Parts' term as Prime Minister officially ended on 12 April 2005 when the Riigikogu confirmed his successor Andrus Ansip.

Minister for Economic Affairs, 2007–2014

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From 2007 until 2014, Parts served as Minister for Economic Affairs and Communications in the government of Prime Minister Andrus Ansip.

Early in his tenure, Parts unveiled a plan to boost Estonia's cyber security in response to the 2007 cyberattacks targeting websites of Estonian organizations, including Estonian parliament, banks, ministries, newspapers and broadcasters.[3] Under his leadership, the Estonian government opened talks with SAS Group about the future of Estonian Air and did not rule out taking a majority stake in the carrier.[4] Also during his time in office, Estonia and Finland signed a 2014 agreement on building two new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals on either side of the Gulf of Finland and a pipeline connecting the two countries.[5]

After calling some members of the Lithuanian government "fools" in a 2014 interview with the Wall Street Journal about the joint Rail Baltic infrastructure project, Parts found himself under heavy fire in both countries.[6]

In the 2015 parliamentary election, Parts was re-elected to the parliament with 4,208 individual votes.[7]

European Court of Auditors, 2017–2022

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In 2016, the Council of the European Union appointed Parts as member of the European Court of Auditors.[8]

Since taking office, Parts has been leading the Court's investigations into the performance of the European Anti-Fraud Office (2019),[9] the European Union's 2014-2020 development spending in Kenya (2020)[10] and the use of Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance funds in the Western Balkans (2022).[11][12]

References

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  1. ^ "Minister Juhan Parts". Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  2. ^ HighBeam
  3. ^ "Estonia to bolster cyber defenses after attacks". Reuters. 5 July 2007. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022.
  4. ^ "UPDATE 1-Estonia to hold talks with SAS on Estonian Air". Reuters. 16 December 2009. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Estonia, Finland sign accord on building joint LNG terminals". Reuters. 28 February 2014. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Estonian Transport Minister, Juhan Parts, Says Article "Spread Misunderstanding"". The Wall Street Journal. 19 January 2014. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Riigikogu valimised 2015: Detailne hääletamistulemus". Vabariigi Valimiskomisjon. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Council appoints Juhan Parts as new ECA Member". European Court of Auditors. 20 December 2016. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020.
  9. ^ Bayer, Lili (10 January 2019). "In EU, it's watchdog vs. watchdog". Politico Europe. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023.
  10. ^ Chadwick, Vince (16 September 2020). "Audit finds EU aid to Kenya lacked impact". Devex. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023.
  11. ^ Bayer, Lili (10 January 2022). "EU funds have little impact in Western Balkans, auditors say". Politico Europe. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023.
  12. ^ Casert, Raf (10 January 2022). "EU auditors: Rule of law aid for W Balkans doesn't pay off". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Juhan Parts.
Political offices
Preceded by Auditor General of Estonia
1998–2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Estonia
2003–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications
2007–2014 		Succeeded by
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