Siim Kallas is an Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

n politician, currently serving as European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

er for Transport. He is also one of five vice-presidents of the 27-member Barroso Commission

Barroso Commission

The Barroso Commission is the European Commission that has been in office since 22 November 2004 and is due to serve until 2014. Its president is José Manuel Barroso, who presides over 26 other commissioners...

. He has been nominated as commissioner for Transport and vice-president in the second Barroso Commission.

Kallas has been Prime Minister of Estonia

Prime Minister of Estonia

The Prime Minister of Estonia is the head of government of the Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by the President after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions and confirmed by the Parliament. In case of disagreement, the Parliament can reject the President's...

, Estonian Minister of Finance, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and member of the Riigikogu. Kallas is a member and former leader of the free-market liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

 Estonian Reform Party

Estonian Reform Party

The Estonian Reform Party is a centre-right, free market liberal party in Estonia. It is led by Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, and has 33 members in the 101-member Riigikogu, making it the largest party in the legislature...

. Kallas was a vice-president of Liberal International

Liberal International

Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...

. He was previously a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Communist Party of the Soviet Union

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...

.

Education

• 1967–1972 Budget and Finance, University of Tartu, M.Sc.
• 1968–1972 The military department of the University of Tartu, Lieutenant
• 1972–1975 Economics of environmental protection, University of Tartu, PhD

Career

• 1975–1979: Specialist at the Finance Ministry of the Estonian SSR
• 1979–1986: Chairman of the Central Authority of the Savings Banks
• 1986–1989: Deputy chief editor of the Communist Party newspaper Rahva Hääl
  Rahva hääl
  Rahva Hääl was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Estonia during Soviet occupation of Estonia. It was founded shortly after the first Soviet takeover in 1940 based on offices and resources of Uus Eesti , an earlier Estonian newspaper.-See also:*Eastern Bloc information dissemination...
  
  
• 1989–1991: Chairman of the Central Union of the Estonian Trade Unions
• 1989–1991: Member of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union
• 1991–1995: President of the Bank of Estonia
  Bank of Estonia
  The Bank of Estonia , is the central bank of Estonia, which is a member of the European Union organisation and the European System of Central Banks...
  
  
• 1995–2004: Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Estonia
  Riigikogu
  The Riigikogu is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. All important state-related questions pass through the Riigikogu...
  
  
• 1995–1996: Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1996 : Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
• 1999–2002: Minister of Finance
• 2002–2003: Prime minister
• 2004–2004: EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, serving with Joaquín Almunia
• 2004–2010: EU Commissioner for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud and Vice-president of the Commission
• 2010– : EU Commissioner for Transport
  European Commissioner for Transport
  The Commissioner for Transport is the member of the European Commission. The current commissioner is Siim Kallas.The portfolio is responsible for the development of transport infastructure in the European Union such as road and rail networks but also navigation systems such as the Galileo...
  
   and Vice-president of the Commission

Personal life

Language skills: Active: Estonian (mother tongue), English (primary working language), Finnish, Russian, German. Passive: French.
Married to doctor Kristi Kallas; one son and one daughter Kaja, who is a member of the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu

Riigikogu

The Riigikogu is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. All important state-related questions pass through the Riigikogu...

).
The ancestors of Siim Kallas were of Estonian and Baltic German

Baltic German

The Baltic Germans were mostly ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today form the countries of Estonia and Latvia. The Baltic German population never made up more than 10% of the total. They formed the social, commercial, political and cultural élite in...

 origin.
Kallas has been an active participant in the restoration of Estonian statehood.

External link and sources

• Siim Kallas, Official Media Gallery
• Official website

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