Riga [Estonia], January 2: Estonia's former president Arnold Rüütel died on New Year's Eve at the age of 96, authorities said in Tallinn on Wednesday.
Rüütel was the Baltic republic's second president following independence from the Soviet Union, ruling the country from 2001 to 2006. During his term, the country joined the EU and NATO in 2004. "Arnold Rüütel was one of those who helped Estonia to escape the Soviet occupation," Estonian leaders said in a joint statement. President Alar Karis, Speaker of Parliament Lauri Hussar and Prime Minister Kristen Michal also paid tribute to his support for Estonia's accession to the EU. Rüütel began his political career as a communist party functionary during the Soviet era. At the end of the 1980s, as a high-ranking official, he campaigned for greater independence for the republic in its dealings with Moscow.
Under his leadership, a period of transition began in Estonia, which had been occupied by the Soviet Union since the end of the Second World War, leading to the restoration of its independence on August 20, 1991. In 1992, Rüütel, who also temporarily acted as head of state, lost the first presidential election to the late Lennart Meri, whom he was to succeed in 2001. (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune