Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Good for Business

Kersti Kaljulaid's term as president will end in fall next year. Given the current political reality, it is rather unlikely that she will continue for another term, ERR said.

Several sources who spoke with ERR said that the president of Estonia may run for the post of OECD secretary-general, which will be vacated next summer, and serious background work is taking place to assess the possibilities.

Kaljulaid may also be seen internationally as a compromise candidate on an international stage where several major world powers have been squaring up against each other, the English-language news portal of ERR reports.

ERR reports that Prime Minister Juri Ratas has also spoken to several national leaders as part of a lobbying process for her candidacy.

Taavi Linnamae, the president's public relations adviser, told ERR on Friday that the head of state has said that her potential candidacy could be discussed.

"It is still too early to call it a plan, because Kersti Kaljulaid will be president until October next year and will focus on this work, as she has done for the last four years. But it is true that the leaders of international organizations are being sought and the president has agreed that the suitability of her candidacy can be discussed," Linnamae said.

He emphasized that the head of state has no plans to resign before the end of her term.

The application round will open on September 1.

The OECD secretary-general's selection process was launched on August 1. OECD member states will be able to nominate their candidates from September 1. Candidates can be submitted until the end of October, after which interviews and consultations will take place. The next secretary-general will be elected by the OECD member states for a term of five years beginning on June 1, 2021.

Former finance minister of Mexico, Jose Angel Gurria, who has served as secretary-general of the OECD for the last 14 years since June 2006, announced on July 10 that he will not seek reelection.

Gurria stepping down is in part due to Mexico wishing to boost its chances of providing the next World Trade Organization (WTO) head, after current leader Roberto Azevedo, who has been heading the WTO since 2013, stands down on August 31. Mexico has nominated Jesus Seade for that position.

Founded in 1961, the OECD had 20 founding members, including Canada and the United States from outside Europe. The OECD currently has 36 member states. Estonia became a member of the OECD on December 9, 2010. The Estonian Ambassador to the OECD is Clyde Kull. The OECD is headquartered in Paris.

The organization, with a long history, has so far had five secretaries-general from Mexico, Japan, Germany, Denmark and the United States. In 2019, the basic salary of the secretary-general was 226,731 euros per year, or approximately 19,000 euros per month. Among Estonia's neighboring countries, Mari Kiviniemi, the former prime minister of Finland, has been the deputy secretary-general of the OECD in 2014-2018.