{"id":8285,"date":"2026-04-28T12:59:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/?page_id=8285"},"modified":"2026-09-04T19:11:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T16:11:37","slug":"board-of-the-riigikogu","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/parliament-of-estonia\/board-of-the-riigikogu\/","title":{"rendered":"Board of the Riigikogu"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Members of the Board<\/h2>\n \n
\n \n
\n \n \"Lauri\n <\/a>\n \n
\n
\n

\n Lauri Hussar<\/a>\n <\/h3>\n

President of the Riigikogu<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

The President of the Riigikogu represents the Riigikogu and presides over its work. The President of the Riigikogu convenes and chairs the meetings of the Board of the Riigikogu.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n \n \"Toomas\n <\/a>\n \n
\n
\n

\n Toomas Kivim\u00e4gi<\/a>\n <\/h3>\n

First Vice-President of the Riigikogu<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

The First Vice-President of the Riigikogu performs the duties of the President of the Riigikogu when the President of the Riigikogu is not present, his or her mandate has been suspended, and in certain other cases.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n \n \"Arvo\n <\/a>\n \n
\n
\n

\n Arvo Aller<\/a>\n <\/h3>\n

Second Vice-President of the Riigikogu<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n

The Second Vice-President of the Riigikogu performs the duties of the President of the Riigikogu when the President of the Riigikogu is not present, his or her mandate has been suspended, and in certain other cases.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n

The number of the Members of the Riigikogu \u2013 101 \u2013 is the approximate cube root of the number of the Estonian citizens with the right to vote.<\/h3>\n \n
\n All board members<\/Btn>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

The Board of the Riigikogu consists of the President and two Vice-Presidents. The Board coordinates the work of the Riigikogu. The Board is elected from the members of the Riigikogu for a term of one year. The President of the Riigikogu is the second most important official in the country after the President of the Republic, and can temporarily fulfil the duties of the President of the Republic, if need be.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mandate of the Board lasts for one year. The MPs elect a new Board from among themselves every spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does the Board do?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

The Board of the Riigikogu is responsible for the representation of the Riigikogu, distributes the seats in committees<\/a> between parliamentary groups, approves the member lists of committees, registers parliamentary groups, prepares the draft agendas for plenary working weeks and submits them to the plenary assembly for approval. If a bill that has been submitted for legislative proceedings conforms to the rules of legislative drafting, the Board designates a lead committee for it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Ene Ergma has been elected the President of the Riigikogu with the largest majority of votes since Estonia regained its independence. At the 2007 election of the Board, she received 91 votes in favour and 6 against.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The President of the Riigikogu chairs plenary sittings, convenes and chairs meetings of the Board, and presents draft agendas to the Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Board of the Riigikogu organises the work of the Riigikogu under the Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules Act<\/a>, and the Status of Member of Riigikogu Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More detailed information on the tasks of the Board can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case the President of the Riigikogu is not present or his or her mandate is suspended, the duties of the President are performed by a Vice-President of the Riigikogu in accordance with the procedure established by the President of the Riigikogu. Under the Constitution<\/a>, the President of the Riigikogu must fulfil the duties of the President of the Republic<\/a>, if need be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Monday and Wednesday plenary sittings of the Riigikogu are chaired by the President of the Riigikogu, the Tuesday sitting by the First Vice-President, and the Thursday sitting by the Second Vice-President. If need be (e.g. if the President is on a mission abroad or has taken ill), the Board may also agree on different arrangements. If the plenary sitting is long, the President and the Vice-Presidents chair it in turns, generally two hours at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In certain circumstances, the plenary sitting may be chaired by the eldest member of the Riigikogu present<\/span>. This may happen when a member of the Board is running for the office of the President of the Republic and cannot chair plenary sittings because the law prohibits it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Election of the Board<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

The candidates for the President and the Vice-Presidents of the Riigikogu are nominated by members of the Riigikogu. The candidates have to give their consent to stand in the elections. At the election of the President of the Riigikogu and also the election of the Vice-Presidents each MP has one vote. Voting is secret.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

At the election of the President and also the election of the Vice-Presidents each MP has one vote.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Votes are counted publicly as soon as the voting ends. The candidate who receives more than one-half of the valid votes will become the President of the Riigikogu. If no candidate receives that many votes, an additional round of voting is held between the two candidates who received the most votes. If the vote is tied, a coin will be tossed. If only one candidate is nominated for the President of the Riigikogu, he or she is elected if more votes are cast in favour of him or her than against.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the election of Vice-Presidents, the two candidates who receive the most votes will be elected. The candidate who received the greatest number of votes becomes the First Vice-President, and the second most popular candidate will become the Second Vice-President. An additional round of voting is held between the candidates if they receive an equal number of votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

A coin may be tossed at the election of the Board of the Riigikogu? This will determine the winner when two candidates received the same amount of votes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Board of the Riigikogu throughout history<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Board of the Riigikogu as the body who directs the work of the parliament is part of the parliamentary tradition in Estonia. The formation of the Board was already set out in the 3 July 1919 internal rules of the Constituent Assembly<\/a>. The Board of the Constituent Assembly consisted of the President, First and Second Vice-Presidents, Secretary, and their First and Second Deputies. The activities of the Board of the Riigikogu have later been regulated by the Constitution and the internal rules of the Riigikogu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presidents of the Riigikogu<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Name<\/th>Term of office<\/th>Convocation<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Otto Strandman<\/td>4.01.1921\u201318.11.1921<\/td>1st Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Johann (Juhan) Kukk<\/td>18.11.1921\u201320.11.1922<\/td>1st Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Konstantin P\u00e4ts<\/td>20.11.1922\u20137.06.1923<\/td>1st Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Jaan T\u00f5nisson<\/td>7.06.1923\u201327.05.1925<\/td>2nd Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
August Rei<\/td>9.06.1925\u201322.06.1926<\/td>2nd Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Karl Einbund (Kaarel Eenpalu)<\/td>22.06.1926\u20132.07.1929<\/td>3rd Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Karl Einbund (Kaarel Eenpalu)<\/td>2.07.1929\u201320.06.1932<\/td>4th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Karl Einbund (Kaarel Eenpalu)<\/td>20.06.1932\u201319.07.1932<\/td>5th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Jaan T\u00f5nisson<\/td>19.07.1932\u201318.05.1933<\/td>5th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Karl Einbund (Kaarel Eenpalu)<\/td>18.05.1933\u201329.08.1934<\/td>5th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Rudolf Penno<\/td>28.09.1934\u201331.12.1937<\/td>5th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
J\u00fcri Uluots<\/td>21.04.1938\u201312.10.1939 (Riigivolikogu)<\/td>6th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Otto Pukk<\/td>17.10.1939\u20135.07.1940 (Riigivolikogu)<\/td>6th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Mihkel Pung<\/td>21.04.1938\u201305.07.1940 (Riigin\u00f5ukogu)<\/td>6th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
\u00dclo Nugis<\/td>5.10.1992\u201310.03.1995<\/td>7th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Toomas Savi<\/td>21.03.1995\u201314.03.1999<\/td>8th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Toomas Savi <\/td>18.03.1999\u201321.03.2003<\/td>9th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Ene Ergma<\/td>31.03.2003\u201323.03.2006<\/td>10th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Toomas Varek<\/td>23.03.2006\u201327.03.2007<\/td>10th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Ene Ergma<\/td>2.04.2007\u201326.03.2011<\/td>11th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Ene Ergma<\/td>4.04.2011\u201320.03.2014<\/td>12th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Eiki Nestor<\/td>20.03.2014\u201323.03.2015<\/td>12th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Eiki Nestor<\/td>30.03.2015\u201329.03.2019<\/td>13th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Henn P\u00f5lluaas<\/td>4.04.2019\u201318.03.2021<\/td>14th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
J\u00fcri Ratas<\/td>18.03.2021\u201331.03.2023<\/td>14th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Lauri Hussar<\/td>10.04.2023\u2013<\/td>15th Riigikogu<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Read more<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules Act<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Status of Member of Riigikogu Act<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President of the Riigikogu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"parent":6073,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8285","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBoard of the Riigikogu – Riigikogu<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/parliament-of-estonia\/board-of-the-riigikogu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Board of the Riigikogu – Riigikogu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President of the Riigikogu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/parliament-of-estonia\/board-of-the-riigikogu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Riigikogu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/riigikogu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-04T16:11:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Otseylekanded-Riigikogu-istungisaalis-tunnuspilt.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"690\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"460\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@riigikogu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/en\\\/parliament-of-estonia\\\/board-of-the-riigikogu\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/en\\\/parliament-of-estonia\\\/board-of-the-riigikogu\\\/\",\"name\":\"Board of the Riigikogu – Riigikogu\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-28T09:59:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-04T16:11:37+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/en\\\/parliament-of-estonia\\\/board-of-the-riigikogu\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/en\\\/parliament-of-estonia\\\/board-of-the-riigikogu\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/en\\\/parliament-of-estonia\\\/board-of-the-riigikogu\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Parliament of Estonia\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/en\\\/parliament-of-estonia\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Board of the Riigikogu\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/\",\"name\":\"Riigikogu\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Riigikogu\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/riigikogu__m2rk_RGB.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/riigikogu__m2rk_RGB.jpg\",\"width\":1360,\"height\":940,\"caption\":\"Riigikogu\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.riigikogu.ee\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/riigikogu\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/riigikogu\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/riigikogu\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/meieriigikogu\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Board of the Riigikogu – Riigikogu","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/parliament-of-estonia\/board-of-the-riigikogu\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Board of the Riigikogu – Riigikogu","og_description":"President of the Riigikogu","og_url":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/parliament-of-estonia\/board-of-the-riigikogu\/","og_site_name":"Riigikogu","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/riigikogu","article_modified_time":"2026-09-04T16:11:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":690,"height":460,"url":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Otseylekanded-Riigikogu-istungisaalis-tunnuspilt.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@riigikogu","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/parliament-of-estonia\/board-of-the-riigikogu\/","url":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/parliament-of-estonia\/board-of-the-riigikogu\/","name":"Board of the Riigikogu – Riigikogu","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-28T09:59:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-04T16:11:37+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/parliament-of-estonia\/board-of-the-riigikogu\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/parliament-of-estonia\/board-of-the-riigikogu\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/parliament-of-estonia\/board-of-the-riigikogu\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Parliament of Estonia","item":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/parliament-of-estonia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Board of the Riigikogu"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/","name":"Riigikogu","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/#organization","name":"Riigikogu","url":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/riigikogu__m2rk_RGB.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/riigikogu__m2rk_RGB.jpg","width":1360,"height":940,"caption":"Riigikogu"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/riigikogu","https:\/\/x.com\/riigikogu","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/riigikogu","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/meieriigikogu\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8285"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251235,"href":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8285\/revisions\/251235"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.riigikogu.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}