Estonia’s defense minister candidate Herem names first priorities
Martin Herem, a candidate for the post of Estonia’s defense minister, presented his work plan to lawmakers from the coalition party Eesti 200. The former commander of the Estonian Defence Forces said that one of his first steps would be to review shortcomings in the management of military warehouses and the plan to address them, ERR News reports.
Data-driven decisions
Toomas Uibo, leader of the Eesti 200 parliamentary group, said after the meeting that Herem could strengthen data-driven decision-making in the defense sector. According to him, the candidate sees areas where work is progressing too slowly and emphasizes not only the quantity of weapons and ammunition, but also the organization of the entire defense system.
Uibo also noted that Herem pays attention to Ukraine’s experience, which, in his view, Estonia has still been unable to fully adopt. The meeting also discussed how to calmly but seriously inform the public about existing threats.
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Plans for the first months
Prime Minister Kristen Michal announced last week that he would officially offer Herem the post of head of the defense ministry. The candidate agreed on the condition that defense spending is maintained at 5% of GDP to counter the threat posed by Russia, an aggressor state. The vacancy arose after the previous defense minister, Hanno Pevkur, resigned on September 2 amid a defense procurement scandal.
Herem said that if his appointment is approved by President Alar Karis, he could take the oath in parliament on Wednesday. He also plans to analyze developments in three areas: the situation in the Baltic Sea, air defense, and the Baltic Defense Line. According to him, substantial progress can be achieved in these areas over the next six months, or decisions can be prepared for rapid implementation.
Herem’s appointment has raised concerns among some defense experts because of his ties to private defense industry companies Milrem Robotics and Frankenburg Technologies and a possible conflict of interest. Herem himself told lawmakers that he had been an employee of the companies, but not their manager or owner, and that his employment relationships with them had ended.
