Kersti Kaljulaid



Kersti Kaljulaid (born 30 December 1969) served as the fifth President of Estonia from 2016 to 2021. She was Estonia's first female president.

2017

 * In a simplistic and absolute world, people ask but two things – that we find a solution to global problems and, if we can't, that we at least make it so that they don't affect them.
 * Direct quote from speech: On the 97th Anniversary of the Tartu Peace Treaty, president.ee, 02 February 2017.


 * We can write laws about how to become an Estonian citizen, but not how to become a part of the Estonian nation. If we were to attempt it, we would turn into a totalitarian society and destroy our freedoms in the name of preserving our customs.
 * Direct quote from speech: On Estonian Independence Day, president.ee, 24 February 2017

Brookings Institution Speech (13 March 2019)
Speech Deliverd at the Brookings Institution, washington.mfa.ee
 * These principles and values upon which our societies stand are noble, but without a willingness to take a stand for it, even the most virtuous of ideas is just an idea. It becomes reality, and stays alive, only when accompanied by a readiness to act.
 * A freedom in retreat somewhere would make freedom less secure everywhere.
 * We do not repeat our ironclad commitment to Article 5 in order to convince our Allies. We repeat it to convince others, so that they would not miscalculate.

2021

 * In the 19th century, the importance of a nation was based on natural resources and territory. In the 20th century primarily on military force. Today, the main resource of countries are our people. People, not merely as tools of production, but as individuals with their rights and freedoms, as well as unbounded imagination, ingenuity and entrepreneurship. Only truly free people are creative enough to thrive in 21st century. Only democracies can give such freedom to people. That is why democracy, human rights and the rights of the nations, are the most important tools for peace and prosperity.
 * Direct quote from speech: 76th UN General Assembly Address, un.org, 22 September 2021.

2023

 * Since economic agents are often concerned with profit lines and not ethics, it can be the case that if something gets banned, another avenue is found to restore it.
 * Cited in: Kersti Kaljulaid: Sanctions on Russia require regular renewal, err.ee, 12 September 2023.