Riho Terras

Riho Terras (2015)

Riho Terras (born April 17, 1967 in Kohtla-Järve ) is a former general of the Estonian army . From 2011 to 2018 he was in command of the Defense Forces of the Republic of Estonia .

Since February 1, 2020, he has been a member of the European Parliament for the conservative Isamaa , which put him up as the top candidate for the 2019 European elections . There he had collected enough votes for the total of the seventh Estonian mandate, which, however, could only start after the Brexit and the associated withdrawal of British MPs.

Life

Riho Terras was born in 1967 in the Russian-influenced northeast of what was then the Estonian SSR . After his school education and military service in the Soviet Navy , he studied history at the University of Tartu from 1988 to 1993 .

Military career

Promotions

Lieutenant (1992)
First Lieutenant (1993)
Captain (1996)
Major (2000)
Lieutenant Colonel (2005)
Colonel (2008)
Brigadier General (2011)
Major General (2013)
Lieutenant General (2015)
General (2017)

In the course of Estonia's regained independence, Riho Terras joined the armed forces of his home country that were being built up. After completing his officer training, he initially served in various posts in the Estonian infantry force . This was followed by a stay at the University of the Federal Armed Forces , after which Terras took over command of the Guard Battalion of the Estonian Armed Forces from 1998 to 2000. He then worked as a defense attaché in Berlin from 2001 to 2004 . In the following years Terras took over various posts in the Ministry of Defense and in the headquarters of the armed forces (there most recently as chief of staff).

On June 16, 2011 he was promoted to Brigadier General ( Estonian : brigaadikindral). In the same year he was appointed military commander of the Estonian armed forces as the successor to Ants Laaneots and was introduced to this post on December 5 of that year. In February 2013 he was promoted to major general (kindralmajor), in February 2015 to lieutenant general (kindralleitnant) and in February 2017 to general (kindral). In May 2015 Terras was from Russia with a travel ban occupied. After his term of office had been extended by two years in 2015, he resigned from the post of Commander-in-Chief on December 4, 2018.

For the time after leaving office, he initially only admitted to wanting to get involved in the arms industry. In early 2019 it was announced that he will work for an Estonian company in the field of unmanned land vehicle development .

Private

Riho Terras is married and has two sons. In addition to Estonian, he also speaks fluent English , German and Russian . His interests include hunting, medieval history, and opera .

Awards

In addition to numerous Estonian medals, Riho Terras u. a. the following foreign honors:

	Golden Cross of Honor of the Bundeswehr (2010)
	Grand Cross of the Westhard Order (2012)
	Large Cross of Merit with Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2013)
	Officer of the Legion of Honor (2013)
	Commander of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2014)
	Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland (2014)
	Commander with Star of the Norwegian Order of Merit (2015)
	Commander of the Legion of Merit (2018)