Ratas, Jüri, 1978–, Estonian political leader. A member of the Center party, a populist party with strong support among ethnic Russians, Ratas was mayor of Talinn (2005–7), before entering the Estonian parliament (2007–). In 2016 he became party chairman when Edgar Savisaar, the party's long-time leader who had forged links with Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, chose not to seek reelection. In Nov., 2016, Ratas became prime minister of three-party coalition, marking the first time since the mid-1990s that Center had participated in a government; though one of the largest Estonian parties, it had been excluded because of its perceived alignment with Russian interests. Ratas remained in power after the 2019 elections by forming a coalition that included EKRE, a far-right, anti-immigrant party, which led to tensions within his government. He resigned as prime minister in 2021 after the Center party became the subject of a corruption investigation.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Baltic States, History: Biographies
