Alar Karis

Alar Karis, born March 26, 1958, in Tartu, has served as the sixth President of Estonia since October 11, 2021, elected on August 31, 2021, with a two-thirds majority of 72 votes in the Riigikogu after being endorsed by both the Reform Party and the Centre Party. A molecular geneticist and developmental biologist by training, he served as rector of the Estonian University of Life Sciences from 2003 to 2007 and of the University of Tartu from 2007 to 2012, then as Estonia's Auditor General from 2013 to 2018 and director of the Estonian National Museum from 2018 to 2021, before his election as president. He announced on June 23, 2026, that he would not seek a second term, citing a prior family agreement to serve only one. He has been married to Sirje Karis since 1977; they have three children and five grandchildren.