Defence ministry chancellor dismissed over failed cooperation with minister

Estonian government chancellor Kaimo Kuusk will leave his post after Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur concluded that cooperation between them had failed, ERR reported after obtaining an explanatory memo originally intended for internal use.

The memo provides only a brief and indirect explanation for the dismissal. It cites the Government of the Republic Act and the Civil Service Act, which allow a ministry chancellor to be dismissed before the end of their term because cooperation has not worked.

The document does not explain how or why the cooperation broke down. It instead sets out when Kuusk began working with Pevkur and when the six-month period during which a chancellor cannot be dismissed had ended. In Kuusk’s case, that period ended on March 2, 2026.

Kuusk was notified of the dismissal through the Defence Ministry’s document management system on September 9. He was given until September 10 to submit his opinion and objections, but confirmed that same day that he had reviewed the notice and draft dismissal order.

His final working day as chancellor will be September 15. Kuusk was appointed for a five-year term running from September 1, 2024, to August 31, 2029.

Chancellors must generally receive at least 30 calendar days’ notice of dismissal. In Kuusk’s case, that period would have ended on October 9, so he will receive compensation for the part of the notice period not observed.

He will also receive his basic salary for the months remaining in his term, although the law caps this compensation at six months’ basic salary. In addition, he will be compensated for unused accrued annual leave. As of September 15, Kuusk will have 3.74 unused calendar days of leave.

Earlier dismissal included more detail

The case has been compared with the 2019 dismissal of Illar Lemetti, chancellor of the Ministry of Rural Affairs. Lemetti had contacted the prosecutor’s office over possible corruption suspicions involving an adviser to the then rural affairs minister, Mart Järvik. The government later dismissed Lemetti on the grounds that cooperation with the minister had failed.

The explanation for Lemetti’s dismissal was considerably longer. Järvik said the proposal resulted from different views about the role of the ministry’s administrative apparatus and subordinate agencies in public administration.