Estonian Reform Party Eesti Reformierakond | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Kristen Michal |
| General Secretary | Timo Suslov |
| Founder | Siim Kallas |
| Founded | 18 November 1994; 31 years ago (1994-11-18) |
| Merger of |
|
| Headquarters | Tallinn,Tõnismägi 9 10119 |
| Newspaper | Paremad Uudised Reformikiri |
| Youth wing | Estonian Reform Party Youth |
| Membership(2024) |  9,669[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | |
| European affiliation | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe |
| European Parliament group | Renew Europe |
| International affiliation | Liberal International |
| Colours |
|
| Slogan | Parem Eesti kõigile ('A Better Estonia for Everyone') |
| Riigikogu | 37 / 101 |
| Municipalities | 125 / 1,688 |
| European Parliament | 1 / 7 |
| Party flag | |
 | |
| Website | |
| reform.ee | |
^ A: The Reform Party under the leadership ofKristen Michal has been referred to in the media asright-wing liberal[2][3][4] and Michal has recently self-identified himself with the exact label.[5] Other MPs in the party also openly affiliate with the label as a descriptor for the party's ideology."[6] | |
TheEstonian Reform Party (Estonian:Eesti Reformierakond) is aliberalpolitical party in Estonia.[7][8] The party has been led byKristen Michal since 2024. It is colloquially known as the "Squirrel Party" (Estonian:Oravapartei) or as "the Squirrels" (Estonian:oravad), referencing its logo.[9][10]
It was founded in 1994 bySiim Kallas, then-president of theBank of Estonia, as a split fromPro Patria National Coalition Party. As the Reform Party has participated in most of the government coalitions in Estonia since the mid-1990s, its influence has been significant, especially regarding Estonia'sfree-market and low-taxation policies. The party has been a full member ofLiberal International since 1996, having been an observer member between 1994 and 1996, and a full member of theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). Reform Party leaders Siim Kallas,Taavi Rõivas,Andrus Ansip,Kaja Kallas andKristen Michal have all served as prime ministers of Estonia. From 11 March 2025, the party has been the senior member in acoalition government withEstonia 200.
The Estonian Reform Party was founded on 18 November 1994,[11] joining together the Reform Party – a splinter from thePro Patria National Coalition (RKEI) – and theEstonian Liberal Democratic Party (ELDP). The new party, which had 710 members at its foundation,[11] was led bySiim Kallas, who had been president of theBank of Estonia. Kallas was not viewed as being associated withMart Laar's government and was generally considered a proficient central bank governor, having overseen the successful introduction of theEstonian kroon.[12] The party formed ties with theFree Democratic Party of Germany, theLiberal People's Party of Sweden, theSwedish People's Party of Finland, andLatvian Way.[11]
Siim Kallas was leader of the Reform Party from 1994 to 2004. He wasPrime Minister of Estonia from 2002 to 2003. In the party's first parliamentary election inMarch 1995, it won 19 seats, catapulting it into second place, behind theCoalition Party.Tiit Vähi tried to negotiate a coalition with the Reform Party, but the talks broke down over economic policy,[13] with the Reform Party opposingagricultural subsidies and supporting the maintenance of Estonia'sflat-rate income tax.[12] While the Coalition Party formed a new government with theCentre Party at first, a taping scandal involving Centre Party leaderEdgar Savisaar led to the Reform Party replacing the Centre Party in the coalition in November 1995.[14] Kallas was appointed asMinister of Foreign Affairs, with five other Reform Party members serving in the cabinet. The Reform Party left the government in November 1996 after the Coalition Party signed a cooperation agreement with the Centre Party without consulting them.[14]
At the1999 election, the Reform Party dropped one seat to 18, finishing third behind the Centre Party and the conservativePro Patria Union.[15] The ER formed acentre-right coalition with the Pro Patria Union and theModerates, withMart Laar as Prime Minister and Siim Kallas asMinister of Finance, and withToomas Savi returned as Speaker.[15] Although the coalition was focused onEU andNATO accession, the Reform Party successfully delivered its manifesto pledge to abolish thecorporate tax,[15] one of its most notable achievements.[16] After theOctober 1999 municipal elections, the three parties replicated their alliance inTallinn.[17]
The party served in government again from March 1999 to December 2001 in a tripartite government withPro Patria Union andPeople's Party Moderates, from January 2002 to March 2003 with theEstonian Centre Party, from March 2003 to March 2005 withRes Publica and People's Union, from March 2005 to March 2007 with the Centre Party and People's Union, from March 2007 to May 2009 with thePro Patria and Res Publica Union and theSocial Democratic Party. From May 2009, the Reform Party was in a coalition government with the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union.[citation needed]
Andrus Ansip was Prime Minister of Estonia from April 2005 to March 2014. After the2007 parliamentary election the party held 31 out of 101 seats in theRiigikogu, receiving 153,040 votes (28% of the total), an increase of +10%, resulting in a net gain of 12 seats.
Following the resignation of Andrus Ansip, a newcabinet was installed on 24 March 2014, withTaavi Rõivas of the Reform Party serving as Prime Minister in coalition with theSocial Democratic Party (SDE).[18]
In the2014 European elections held on 25 May 2014, the Reform Party won 24.3% of the national vote, returning twoMEPs.[19]
In the2015 parliamentary election held on 1 March 2015, the Reform Party received 27.7% of the vote and 30 seats in the Riigikogu.[20] It went on to form a coalition with Social Democratic Party and Pro Patria and Res Publica Union. In November 2016, the coalition split because of internal struggle.[21] After coalition talks, a new coalition was formed between Center Party, SDE and IRL, while Reform Party was left in the opposition for the first time since 1999.[22] Rõivas subsequently stepped down as the chairman of the party.[23]
On 7 January 2017,Hanno Pevkur was elected the new chairman of the Reform Party.[24] Pevkur's leadership was divided from the start and he faced increasing criticism till the end of the year. On 13 December 2017, Pevkur announced that he would not run for the chairmanship from January 2018.[25]
_(cropped).jpg)
Kaja Kallas was elected party leader on 14 April 2018.[26]
Under Kallas' leadership during the2019 election, the Reform Party achieved its best electoral result to date with 28.8% of the vote and 34 seats, although it initially did not form a government and remained in opposition to thesecond Ratas government.
In January 2021, after the resignation ofJüri Ratas as prime minister, Kallas formed a Reform Party-ledcoalition government with theEstonian Centre Party.[27] However, on 3 June 2022, Kallas dismissed the seven ministers affiliated with the Centre Party,[28] governing as a minority government until anew coalition government withIsamaa and SDE as minority partners was formed on 8 July.[29]
In the2023 parliamentary election, the Reform Party improved on its 2019 electoral performance, with 31.2% of the vote 37 seats. On 7 March 2023, the party initiated coalition negotiations with the newEstonia 200 party and the SDE.[30] A coalition agreement between the three parties was reached by 7 April,[31] allocating seven ministerial seats for the Reform Party,[32] and was officially signed on 10 April.[33] On 17 April, thethird Kallas government was sworn into office.[34]
In July 2024,Kristen Michal became Estonia’s new prime minister to succeed Kaja Kallas, who resigned as prime minister on July 15 to become the European Union’s newHigh Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.[35]
On 10 March 2025, Kristen Michal announced a "government repair" and expelled the Social Democrats from the coalition. Michal will ask the President to remove the party's ministers from office on 11 March. He stated that the remaining coalition intends to move toward the right and scrap several tax hikes and wage increases.[36]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2023) |
Described as being on thecentre,[37][38]centre-right,[39] orright-wing[40] of thepolitical spectrum, the Estonian Reform Party has variously been described in its ideological orientation asliberal,[7][8][41]classical-liberal,[42][43]liberal-conservative,[44][45] andconservative-liberal.[46][47] The party has consistently advocated policies ofeconomic liberalism[16][48] andfiscal conservatism,[49] and has also been described asneoliberal.[40][50]
| This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2021) |
The party is supported predominantly by young, well-educated, urban professionals. The Reform Party's vote base is heavily focused in the cities; although it receives only one-fifth of its support from Tallinn, it receives three times as many votes from other cities, despite them being home to fewer than 40% more voters overall.[52]
Its voter profile is significantly younger than average,[53] while its voters are well-educated, with the fewest high schooldrop-outs of any party.[52] Its membership is the most male-dominated of all the parties,[54] yet it receives the support of more female voters than average.[53] Reform Party voters also tend to have higher incomes, with 43% of Reform Party voters coming from the top 30% of all voters by income.[52]
| This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2016) |
The Reform Party has been a full member of theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (formerly the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, ELDR) since December 1998.[55] In theEuropean Parliament, the party's MEPS Andrus Ansip and Urmas Paetsits in theALDE group in the Assembly. The Reform Party has been a full member of theLiberal International since 1996, having been an observer member from 1994 to 1996.
The party claims to have 12,000 members.[56]
The party'syouth wing is theEstonian Reform Party Youth, which includes members aged 15 to 35. The organisation claims to have 4,500 members, and its chairman is Doris Lisett Rudnevs.[57]
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Siim Kallas | 87,531 | 16.19 (#2) | 19 / 101 | New | Opposition(1995) |
| Coalition(1995–1996) | ||||||
| Opposition(1996–1999) | ||||||
| 1999 | 77,088 | 15.92 (#3) | 18 / 101 | 1 | Coalition | |
| 2003 | 87,551 | 17.69 (#3) | 19 / 101 |  1 | Coalition | |
| 2007 | Andrus Ansip | 153,044 | 27.82 (#1) | 31 / 101 | 12 | Coalition |
| 2011 | 164,255 | 28.56 (#1) | 33 / 101 | 2 | Coalition | |
| 2015 | Taavi Rõivas | 158,970 | 27.69 (#1) | 30 / 101 | 3 | Coalition(2015–2016) |
| Opposition(2016–2019) | ||||||
| 2019 | Kaja Kallas | 162,363 | 28.93 (#1) | 34 / 101 | 4 | Opposition(2019–2021) |
| Coalition(2021–2023) | ||||||
| 2023 | 190,632 | 31.24 (#1) | 37 / 101 | 3 | Coalition |
| Election | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Toomas Savi | 28,377 | 12.22 (#3) | 1 / 6 | New | ALDE |
| 2009 | Kristiina Ojuland | 79,849 | 15.32 (#3) | 1 / 6 |  | |
| 2014 | Andrus Ansip | 79,849 | 24.31 (#1) | 2 / 6 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 87,158 | 26.2 (#1) | 2 / 7 | | RE | |
| 2024 | Urmas Paet | 66,017 | 17.93 (#3) | 1 / 7 | 1 |
In theEuropean Parliament, the Estonian Reform Party sits in theRenew Europe group with one MEP.[58]
In theEuropean Committee of the Regions, the Estonian Reform Party sits in theRenew Europe CoR group, with two full and two alternate members for the 2025–2030 mandate.[59][60]
„Meie vaated ei kattu alati," tõdeb valitsusjuht. „Keit on sotsiaalliberaalsem, mina paremliberaalsem. Ta ütleb ausalt välja, kui on eriarvamusel."[„Our views don't always align,“ the Prime Minister admits. „Keit is more social liberal, I am more right-wing liberal. He speaks out honestly when he disagrees.“]
Member of Riigikogu (parliament), Reform Party (right-wing liberal), economist, 3x minister (Finance, Education&Research, Justice)
"The Reform Party is the 2015 winner of the parliamentary elections," Roivas announced on Estonia's ERR public television late Sunday as official results showed his centrist Reform party won despite losing three seats.
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