Ülle Madise takes office as Estonia’s president

Ülle Madise was sworn in before Estonia’s parliament on Monday and took office as president, ERR reported.

At 2.15pm, Madise arrived with her husband at the presidential office in Kadriorg, where outgoing President Alar Karis and his wife, Sirje Karis, welcomed them. The group then travelled to Toompea for the ceremony.

Parliament elected Madise in a secret ballot with 71 votes. Seventy-five members of parliament had nominated her as a candidate.

Madise, 51, was born and educated in Tartu and trained as a lawyer. She has worked at the Ministry of Justice, on parliament’s Constitutional Committee, as chief auditor at the National Audit Office and as a legal adviser to the president. She has served as Chancellor of Justice since 2015 and was reappointed for a second term in late 2021.

Madise is married to Lauri Madise, a judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg.