| Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, May 25, 2018 | 3:00PM - 4:00PM | The Vivian and David Campbell Conference Facility, 1 Devonshire Place (Devonshire Pl. & Hoskin Ave.) |
The Munk School of Global Affairs is pleased to welcome Jüri Ratas, Prime Minister of Estonia for a special address.
Estonia has transformed itself from a small, developing EU nation to a global leader in the digitalisation of society, including government services. Estonians can conduct all aspects of their everyday lives online – from voting to signing legal documents, accessing medical records to seeing who accesses their documents online. The Estonian government has opened an e-residency program, allowing entrepreneurs around the world to establish new businesses in the country.
While holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2017, Estonia championed the creation of a European digital single market. In 2007, Estonia was the first nation in history to be targeted by state sponsored cyber-attacks that affected public and private services. From that experience, Estonia has built robust cyber defences and has been a pioneer on these issues internationally, including establishing the NATO Cooperative Centre of Excellence for Cyber Defence in Tallinn.
BiographyPrime Minister Jüri Ratas was born on 2 July 1978 in Tallinn. He holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Tartu and a master’s degree in economics from the Tallinn University of Technology.
Ratas was first elected to the Tallinn City Council in 2005 and served as Mayor of Tallinn from 2005 to 2007. From 2007 to 2016 he was the Deputy Speaker of the Estonian Parliament. After being elected leader of the Estonian Centre Party in 2016, he formed a coalition government. As Prime Minister, he chaired the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union during the second half of 2017.
Ratas is married and has three children. Basketball is his favourite pastime and from 2012 to 2016 he was the President of the Estonian Basketball Association.
If you are attending a Munk School event and require accommodation(s), please email the event contact listed above to make appropriate arrangements.
Disclaimer: Please note that events posted on this website are considered to be public events – unless otherwise stated – and you are choosing to enter a space where your image and/or voice may be captured as part of event proceedings that may be made public as part of a broadcast, webcast, or publication (online and in print). We make every effort to ensure your personal information is kept and used in compliance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). If you have any questions please get in touch with our office at munkschool@utoronto.ca or 416-946-8900.