Marti Kuusik

Marti Kuusik (born July 4, 1970 ) is an Estonian businessman and politician . He belongs to the right-wing populist party of the Estonian Conservative People's Party (EKRE). On April 29, 2019, Kuusik took office as Minister of Foreign Trade and Information Technology of the Republic of Estonia . After allegations against him for alleged domestic violence increased, he resigned from his position the next day.

Life

Marti Kuusik graduated from school in Rakvere in 1988 . He then studied economics at the Tallinn University of Technology until 1992 .

economy

At first Kuusik was employed by Ühispank in Rakvere . From 1998 to 2006 he worked as regional manager for Central Estonia at the Estonian Hansapank . From 2007 to 2009 he worked as an independent entrepreneur. From 2010 to 2013 Kuusik worked as a regional manager for the insurance group ERGO , before he headed the sports center of the city of Rakvere from 2013 to 2018 . In 2018/2019 he worked for the air surveillance company Threod Systems .

politics

Marti Kuusik has been a member of the Rakvere City Council since 2009. At the beginning of April 2019, he joined the right-wing populist party EKRE, which had won 17.8 percent of the vote in the previous month's parliamentary elections . After difficult coalition negotiations, Prime Minister Jüri Ratas of the Center Party formed a governing coalition of his party with the EKRE and the conservative Fatherland (Isamaa) party on April 29, 2019 .

The appointment of Kuusik as minister was particularly controversial, as he was accused of serious domestic violence against his then wife. President Kersti Kaljulaid , who is critical of the EKRE's inclusion in the government, demonstratively left the plenary hall when Kuusik was sworn in in front of the parliament ( Riigikogu ) .

On April 30, Kuusik resigned from his ministerial office due to public pressure, but denied the allegations. With a term of thirty hours, he was the shortest incumbent minister in the Republic of Estonia to date. On May 16, his party colleague Kert Kingo was sworn in as his successor.

At the end of May 2019, Kuusik filed a lawsuit with the Tallinn Administrative Court because the Estonian State Chancellery refused to pay out the bridging allowance for outgoing ministers.

Private

Marti Kuusik is divorced. He has two sons and a daughter.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://rk2019.ekre.ee/kandidaat/marti-kuusik
2. ↑ https://rp-online.de/politik/ausland/marti-kuusik-minister-in-estland-tritt-einen-tag-nach-ernnung-zurueck_aid-38499677
3. ↑ https://www.aripaev.ee/uudised/2019/06/11/endine-minister-marti-kuusik-sai-prokuratuurilt-kahtlustuse