Estonia's ruling party nominates the climate minister as the new PM

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, walks past Minister of Climate Kristen Michal in Tallinn, Estonia, on May 2, 2023 (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Estonia’s ruling party has unanimously decided that their climate minister should become the Baltic state's new leader.

On Saturday, the Reform Party chose climate minister Kristen Michal to replace outgoing Kaja Kallas, who is the EU's new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

The unanimous decision to nominate Michal was made following a closed-door meeting by the party’s governing board only two days after Kallas was proposed as the EU’s new foreign policy chief.

Michal’s nomination for the role will still have to be approved by the Estonian President and parliament.

He has been serving as Minister for Climate Affairs since April of last year and has been active among the ranks of the Reform Party since the late 1990s.

Kallas, Estonia's first female Prime Minister since January 2021, currently heads a three-party coalition government. Under her leadership, the Reform Party won an overwhelming victory in 2023 general elections.

Under Kallas’ rule, Estonia has been one of Europe’s most vocal backers of Ukraine following the Russian invasion that began in 2022.