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International Centre for Defence and Security Accessibility

Alar Karis

President of Estonia

President Alar Karis was elected President of Estonia on 31 August 2021 and was sworn in on 11 October 2022. President Karis graduated from the Estonian Agricultural Academy (now the Estonian University of Life Sciences) as a veterinarian in 1981 and earned an MSc degree in 1987. He then worked at the Estonian Research Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science and later at the Estonian Biocentre of the Academy of Sciences. In the intervening years, his research has focused on molecular genetics and developmental biology. He has worked at universities in Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands, and joined the University of Tartu as a professor in 1999. His research has been among the most widely cited internationally of any Estonian scientist of his generation. President Karis served as rector of the Estonian University of Life Sciences from 2003 to 2007 and of the University of Tartu from 2007 to 2012. He has led the work of Universities Estonia (the national council of university rectors) on numerous occasions. President Karis served as Auditor-General of the Republic of Estonia from 2013 to 2018 and as head of the EUROSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (EUROSAI WGEA) from 2014 to 2018. President Karis was the director of the Estonian National Museum from 2018 to 2021.
Subjects:
Baltic states, Deterrence, European Union, History, NATO, Russia, Security, Ukraine, War, West
Updated: February 20, 2025

Agenda

Dinner, hosted by the President of Estonia Alar Karis
LMC 2023
Baltic states, Deterrence, European Union, NATO, Russia, Security
Trusting Who We Are: Baltic Regional Security
LMC 2022

Articles

Speech by President of Estonia Alar Karis: We Are Shaking Off Our Mistaken Strategy of “Deterring by Restraint”

Speech by the President of the Republic of Estonia Alar Karis at the Lennart Meri Conference 2024.

LMC 2024: Let Us Not Despair, But Act
Speech by President Alar Karis

Dear friends, I am honoured to welcome you in Estonia for the Lennart Meri conference, and I am pleased to see many familiar, but also new faces. When we gathered in Tallinn last year, there was still shock caused by the brutality of the war…

LMC 2023
History, Russia, Ukraine, War, West
Evil is Real: Time to Stand Up

What words are there when a country launches an all-out attack on its neighbour? “Evil is real,” I posted on Twitter on the morning of 24 February. We must recognise the evil of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine and be more courageous in our response.

Alar Karis
LMC 2022

In the news

MEELIS OIDSALU ⟩ Estonia excels in waging hybrid warfare against Russia

Postimees, May 21, 2024

Viron presidentti: Paluuta hyökkäystä edeltäneeseen maailmaan ei ole

Verkkouutiset, May 18, 2024

Alar Karis: Russia has a visceral thirst for dominance and expansion

ERR, May 17, 2024

Estonian president: We've hit 'snooze button' too many times in reacting to Russia

Baltic Times, May 17, 2024

Viron presidentti: Kauhistuttaa ajatella, missä voisimme olla nyt

Verkkouutiset, May 17, 2023

‘No alternative to Ukraine joining NATO,’ Estonian President Alar Karis tells Arab News

Arab News, May 15, 2023
10 more