The Future is Female: Estonia Becomes The First Country With a Female President and Female Prime Minister
While the world is still celebrating Kamala Harris’ emergence as the first black woman Vice President to lead the United States, coupled with the 22-year old poet, Amanda Gorman and her congratulatory poetry performance on inauguration day, Tuesday, 26th of January, brought the news that the Republic of Estonia would be the first in the world to have both a female President and Prime Minister simultaneously.
Estonia released its news as the only country in the world to have an elected female President and Prime Minister. Much amazingly, this happened in the same week that the United States of America had gotten its first female Vice-President.
It is very imperative to note that Estonia is the only country where both the President and Prime Minister are elected into power by the people. This should not be confused with New Zealand, Barbados, Denmark, and other countries with female Prime Ministers and Presidents. The system and forms of government operated in these countries are relatively monarchical.
The new Prime Minister named Kaja Kallas was a member of the European Parliament. She rose to become the Prime Minister of Estonia following the new two-party coalition government sworn in on January 26, 2021.
Kaja Kallas would be the first woman Prime Minister since Estonia regained its independence in 1991.
Estonia has long grappled with corruption scandals especially after leader Juri Ratas administration had collapsed in January 2021. Following this, the two biggest political parties of Estonia, including the center-right Reform Party, and the left-leafining center party, agreed on the 24th of January to form a government which would be led by Kaja Kalla, who is also the head of the center-right reform party of Estonia.
Kaja Kalla was appointed as Prime Minister to serve with President Kersti Kaljulaid after receiving approval from the 15-man cabinet lawmakers in the parliament of Estonia.
Following her placement in office, in an interview with Reuters in Tallinn, Kaja Kalla has promised to reinstate the nation’s reputation to the world and restore the Baltic Nation for all to see. In her own words, she stated that she’d see to restructuring and amending the nation’s relations with its allies and neighbors.
“We will again build our relations with our allies, our neighbors, and we will try to restore our name as a good country to invest in”
Who is Kaja Kalla?
43-year old Prime Minister, Kalla Kajas is a lawyer and a former member of the European parliament. Her father, Sim Kallas, founded the Reform Party and was prime minister of Estonia from 2002-2003. Kaja is an advocate for gender balance and is looking to serve Estonia capably.
Estonia, which is also officially called the Republic of Estonia, is a country on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe with a population of over 1.3 million people.
Kersti Kaljulaid is the first female President of Estonia since 2016. During the pandemic, Kaljulaid alongside her global advocacy for a digital economy and cybersecurity was amongst some of the best female leaders to manage the covid crisis properly within the state.
In a study published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research and the World Economic Forum, The Guardian reports that the infection rates are reportedly fewer and well managed in female-led countries, with fewer infections and a reduced death rate. This reveal might only remind us about the efficiency and proactive responses adopted by female leaders.
We sincerely wish Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and President Kersti Kaljulaid the best of luck even though the President’s first tenure would be over at the end of the year. Kaljulaid has not specified yet if she would be making a return for reelection.
All images are sourced from Twitter.com
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