Johannes Kert

Johannes Kert (2015)

Johannes Kert (born December 3, 1959 ) is a former Estonian lieutenant general . From 1996 to 2000 he was the commander of the Estonian armed forces and from 2002 to 2008 his country's military representative to NATO and the EU . He is currently a member of the Estonian Parliament ( Riigikogu ).

Life

Johannes Kert was born in Petseri , in today's border area between Russia and Estonia. After leaving school in Võru he studied in Tartu at the local university . Since graduating in 1981, he has worked as a sports trainer and photographer.

Military career

Promotions

• Captain (1992)
• Major (1993)
• Lieutenant Colonel (1995)
• Colonel (1996)
• Major General (1997)
• Lieutenant General (1998)

As part of Estonia's aspirations for independence, he has been involved in the reconstruction of the Estonian Defense Association ( Kaitseliit ) since 1990 . Here he was first chief of staff in 1991, later commander of the regional association in Tartu. Within a very short time he then took on various management tasks within the Kaitseliit and was its commander from 1992 to 1996.

After the resignation of Aleksander Einseln , he was appointed the new military commander in chief of the Estonian armed forces on January 23, 1996. In July 1998 he was promoted to lieutenant general - he held the post of commander of the armed forces until June 30, 2000. In 2001 he was appointed Commander of the Land Forces . Just one year later, however, he was sent to Brussels as a member of the Estonian delegation to NATO and the EU, where he served as his country's military representative until 2008. In January 2008, Kert retired from active military service and was transferred to the reserve. Until 2015, however, he continued to work as a consultant for the Ministry of Defense.

Activity in politics

After leaving the military, Johannes Kert began to get involved in politics. In the 2015 parliamentary elections , he ran as a candidate for the Reform Party , which he joined in 2014, and managed to win a seat in constituency 8. He was able to defend this in 2019 after moving to constituency 3.

Private

Johannes Kert is married and has two daughters. His hobbies include military history, hunting, music and sports.

Awards

Johannes Kert received the following state awards:

	II class of the Order of the Eagle Cross
	Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland

Web links

Commons : Johannes Kert  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Biography of Johannes Kert on the NATO website
• Johannes Kert on the website of the Estonian Parliament

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kindralleitnant Johannes Kert läheb reservi Johannes Kerdi vabastamine ja Aarne Ermuse nimetamine , online report at www.riigiteataja.ee, accessed on February 11, 2018 (Estonian)
2. ↑ Kindralleitnant Johannes Kert läheb reservi , online report on the website of the Estonian Armed Forces of January 31, 2008, accessed on July 12, 2016 (Estonian)
3. ↑ Online report of the Election Commission of March 20, 2015, accessed on January 9, 2016 (Estonian).
4. ↑ Online report of the election commission of March 4, 201, accessed on March 4, 2019 (English).

predecessor	Office	successor
Aleksander Einseln	Kaitseväe juhatajad 1996-2000	Tarmo Kõuts