Estonia’s ruling center-right Reform Party has chosen Climate Minister Kristen Michal to replace outgoing leader Kaja Kallas as prime minister of the Baltic country, Report informs referring to AP.
The unanimous decision to nominate Michal was made following a closed-door meeting by the party’s governing board, only two days after the European Union tapped Kallas to become the bloc’s new foreign policy chief.
Kallas, Estonia’s first female prime minister since January 2021, currently heads a three-party coalition government. Under her leadership, the Reform Party won overwhelmingly the March 2023 general election.
She has proposed an extraordinary party meeting to elect her replacement as a party chairman on July 14, with Michal expected to take over after his main rival Defense Minister and former Prime Minister Hanno Pevkur bowed out on Friday.
Michal’s nomination for Estonia’s top job will then have to be approved by President Alar Karis and the 101-seat Riigikogu, or Parliament, where the coalition holds a comfortable majority.
He has been serving as the minister for climate affairs since April last year.