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Hanno Pevkur, president of the Estonian Volleyball Federation, on Tuesday announced his intention to run for president of the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV), informed LETA/BNS. 

Pevkur, 42, is currently serving as CEV vice president and a member of the Board of Administration. He now wishes to put more energy into making volleyball greater than it is today, a press release published on the website of the CEV says.

"I received many proposals from different European federations to run for president of the CEV and I decided to accept this challenge. I believe European Volleyball still has a lot of unused potential even though we have made big steps forward in the past years," Pevkur said.

"We are still losing ground to other sports and this cannot continue. I believe that we can do more and that we can do better. I find it very important that we take advantage of all the opportunities coming our way, times are changing and CEV needs to adapt. Only then will the CEV become an attractive partner for governments, sponsors, fans and the media. Only then can we grow the commercial strength and popularity of our sport across Europe," Pevkur added.

Pevkur notified all European national federations of his candidacy by video on Tuesday. 

Pevkur is  a member of the Estonian parliament from the opposition Reform Party, of which he was the chairman from 2017-2018. Pevkur served as minister of social affairs, an office responsible for employment, health and social protection, from 2009-2012; as minister of justice from 2012-2014; and as minister of the interior from 2014-2016. 

Pevkur is married with two children.