Taavi RÕIVAS

Taavi Rõivas is an Estonian politician, former leader of the Reform Party and former Prime Minister of Estonia. Before his term as the Prime Minister, Rõivas was the Minister of Social Affairs from 2012 to 2014.

Mr. Rõivas graduated from Tallinn Secondary Science School and from the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of the University of Tartu in international economics and marketing.

He joined the Reform Party in 1998. His political career began as an advisor to Minister of Justice from 1999 to 2002. He was Mayor of Haabersti district of Tallinn 2004-2005 and advisor to the Minister of Population Affairs from 2003 to 2004. In 2005, he became an advisor to the Prime Minister and Reform Party Leader Andrus Ansip. He was elected to the Tallinn City Council in 2005 and to the Riigikogu in 2007 and again in 2011.

In December 2012, Mr. Rõivas became the youngest member of the Estonian Government as the Minister of Social Affairs.

Taavi Rõivas led his party to the 2015 parliamentary elections, in which Reform Party succeeded in staying as the largest party and began coalition talks with the Social Democratic Party, the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union and the Free Party.

Mr. Rõivas speaks Estonian, English, Russian, Ukrainian and Finnish.