Following the recent elections in Estonia, Mr Ivari Padar has been appointed that country’s Minister of Finance, succeeding Mr Aivar Sõerd. Mr Padar thus also becomes EIB Governor for the Republic of Estonia.
Mr Padar, 42 years of age, studied history at the University of Tartu. He became Assistant Mayor of the town of Võru in 1993, where he also served as the Chairman of the City Council from 2002 to 2005. He worked in the Ministry of Finance from 1995 to 1997, following which he took up the post of Director General of the company AS HT Hulgi. He was Minister of Agriculture from 1999 until 2002 and has been a Member of the Estonian Parliament since 2003. He has been a member of the Social Democratic Party since 1999.