New year’s address by the President of the Republic 31 December 2011

People of Estonia,

Tonight, at this hour – when one year becomes the next; when one thing fades as another takes form – it is fitting to recognise that now, in our 20^th year of new freedom, we have truly come of age. First and foremost, this is related to what is around us.

Now we must become a part of a world that has come of age, too. We must do so wisely, striking a balance; with a respect for our achievements, and our worth. Let us remember that our freedom – that whitest of white ships we awaited for a full 700 and then another 50 years – is the freedom to go, and to go freely, wherever we wish.

31.12.2011

Latest speeches

• 05.12.2011 President Toomas Hendrik Ilves at the assuming of office of the Commander of the Defence Forces on 5 December 2011 in Tallinn
• 24.11.2011 Address by the President Toomas Hendrik Ilves at the conference "The Baltic Ways: 20 Years on. Closing the Gaps in the Baltic Sea Region" at the Radisson Blu Hotel Tallinn, 24 November 2011
• 13.11.2011 Welcome speech by the President of the Republic at the Men’s Health conference at the Radisson Blu Hotel Tallinn, 3 November 2011
• 27.10.2011 Address by the President of the Republic of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves at the official opening of the Helsinki Book Fair 27 October 2011

President Ilves presented the titles of Tigers Achievers 2011 to Konguta School and Eva Tsepurko, a teacher from Valga

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who is a patron of the Tiger Leap Foundation, today presented the Tigers Achievers 2011 awards to the best teacher and school, on what is the 15th anniversary of the foundation.

21.02.2012

President of the Republic declares Ardo Hansson the next President of Eesti Pank (Bank of Estonia)

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves today signed a resolution to name Ardo Hansson the next President of Eesti Pank (Bank of Estonia), based on the proposal of the Supervisory Board of the Bank, made on 1 February. Hansson's seven years in office will commence on 7 June.

21.02.2012

President Ilves: we cannot lose a state from a state

"How should Estonia avoid becoming a country in which all of the population is concentrated solely in a couple of large towns?" asked President Toomas Hendrik Ilves today in Tallinn, where he addressed the opening of the Day of Towns and Rural Municipalities.

15.02.2012