Alar Karis

Date of Birth: 26.03.1958

Alar Karis has been the President of the Republic of Estonia since October 11, 2021. He was the Rector of the Estonian University of Life Sciences (2003-2007), the Rector of the University of Tartu (2007-2012), the Auditor General of Estonia (2013-2018), and the Director of the Estonian National Museum (2018-2021).

Place of Birth. Education. Born on March 26, 1958, in Tartu. In 1981, he graduated from the Estonian University of Life Sciences.

Career. From 1987 to 1992, he worked at the Estonian Biocenter. He then continued his education and conducted research in the field of molecular genetics at several European universities: University of Hamburg, National Institute for Medical Research in London, and Erasmus University Rotterdam in Rotterdam.

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Since 1996, he worked at the University of Tartu. In 1999, he took a professorship in zoology there, but left the university in the same year.

From 2003 to 2007, he was the Rector of the Estonian University of Life Sciences.

From May 31, 2007, to June 30, 2012 - he was the Rector of the University of Tartu.

In 2010, he was appointed Honorary Consul of the Republic of Chile in Tartu.

From March 26, 2013, to 2018, he was the Auditor General of Estonia.

From April 9, 2018, to 2021, he was the Director of the Estonian National Museum.

In August 2021, Parliament Speaker Jüri Ratas approached Alar Karis with a proposal to run for the presidency of Estonia in the upcoming 2021 elections. Alar Karis accepted the proposal, and then both coalition parties, the Reform Party and the Centre Party, supported his candidacy.

On August 31, 2021, the Estonian Parliament elected Alar Karis as President in the second round of a special session. For the first time in thirty years after restoring Estonia's independence, the elections took place on an unrestricted basis. On October 11, 2021, Karis took the oath of office and assumed his position.

Family. Since 1977, he has been married to Sirje Karis (born 1956), who is a historian, formerly the director of the Estonian Historical Museum, and is currently the director of the Tartu City Museum. They have three children: one daughter, two sons, and five grandchildren.

09.20.2023