Former museum director Alar Karis elected president of Estonia

Alar Karis, former director of the Estonian National Museum (2018–2021), has been elected president of Estonia. He won 72 votes from the 101-member Riigikogu parliament, running as the sole candidate—a first for the Baltic state since independence from the USSR. Karis is the first Estonian head of state with such a high-level background and was backed by the Reform and Centre parties, which form the centre-right coalition. He will take office on 11 October, succeeding Kersti Kaljulaid, the country's first female president. Karis previously held academic positions in Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands as a molecular geneticist and developmental biologist. He became a professor at the University of Tartu in 1999, served as rector of the Estonian University of Life Sciences (2003–2007) and rector of the University of Tartu (2007–2012). The Estonian National Museum, founded in Tartu in 1909, focuses on preserving and presenting Estonian culture and history, with emphasis on minority communities and Finno-Ugric peoples. Its permanent exhibitions, Encounters and The Echo of the Urals, blend science and technology to engage broad audiences.