Estonia Essay
Cultural Audit of Estonia
Amanda Richards
Estonia is a country that has continued to try to improve itself since leaving the former Soviet Union. 1990 was the year that Estonia declared its independence from the Soviet Union. Other European nations had recognized Estonia as their own separate entity almost immediately after declaring themselves a country. The Soviets were resistant initially but over a year later they also recognized Estonia as their own nation (infoplease, n.d.). Estonia joined the European Union as well as NATO in 2004. Estonia has been the first country to allow for internet voting in elections for parliament members (infoplease, n.d.). Tampering would be thought to be an issue with allow for electronic voting, but the Estonian government has taken the precautions necessary to prevent that from happening. The current president of Estonia is Toomas Hendrik Ilves. President Ilves was elected by an electoral college in 2006. He had previously served in the Estonia Parliament before being elected. The Prime Minister of Estonia, who serves as the head of the government and has just as much if not more power than the president, is Prime Minister Andrus Ansip who has held his position since 2005. The type of government that Estonia has adopted is a Parliamentary Republic. The people of the Estonia vote for the members to represent that parliament, in this case 101 people. Those 101 members of parliament then vote on who the President and Prime Minister of Estonia are. Parliament also gives forth votes to the people on issues that are concerns for the whole country. Estonia remains a so called melting pot for Eastern Europe. The country is made up of 60 percent Estonia’s, with the other 40 percent being from other parts of the former Soviet Republic and a small population from other various parts of the world (Miller, 2009). With this much diversity within the country it is commendable that Estonia has done so well and can be a model of social
Amanda Richards
Estonia is a country that has continued to try to improve itself since leaving the former Soviet Union. 1990 was the year that Estonia declared its independence from the Soviet Union. Other European nations had recognized Estonia as their own separate entity almost immediately after declaring themselves a country. The Soviets were resistant initially but over a year later they also recognized Estonia as their own nation (infoplease, n.d.). Estonia joined the European Union as well as NATO in 2004. Estonia has been the first country to allow for internet voting in elections for parliament members (infoplease, n.d.). Tampering would be thought to be an issue with allow for electronic voting, but the Estonian government has taken the precautions necessary to prevent that from happening. The current president of Estonia is Toomas Hendrik Ilves. President Ilves was elected by an electoral college in 2006. He had previously served in the Estonia Parliament before being elected. The Prime Minister of Estonia, who serves as the head of the government and has just as much if not more power than the president, is Prime Minister Andrus Ansip who has held his position since 2005. The type of government that Estonia has adopted is a Parliamentary Republic. The people of the Estonia vote for the members to represent that parliament, in this case 101 people. Those 101 members of parliament then vote on who the President and Prime Minister of Estonia are. Parliament also gives forth votes to the people on issues that are concerns for the whole country. Estonia remains a so called melting pot for Eastern Europe. The country is made up of 60 percent Estonia’s, with the other 40 percent being from other parts of the former Soviet Republic and a small population from other various parts of the world (Miller, 2009). With this much diversity within the country it is commendable that Estonia has done so well and can be a model of social