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Revision as of 12:55, 23 May 2006 by SmackBot (talk | contribs) (ISBN: ->ISBN using AWB)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Mart Laar (April 22 1960 in Viljandi), was the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1992 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2002.
Laar is a member of the Pro Patria Union. As well as being a politician, Laar has written several books on Estonian and Russian history. Laar was also a history teacher in Tallinn, as well as the past president of Council of Historians of the Foundation of the Estonia Inheritance, the Society for the Preservation of Estonia History and the Society of University Students of Estonian. Laar graduated form Tartu University in 1983, and received his masters degree from the same university in 1995.
On 21 October 1992 Laar was installed by the Riigikogu as Prime Minister, after being appointed to the post by then President Lennart Meri. In an 1994 no-confidence vote, parliament removed the historian from office amid opposition accusations of lying to the people, following murky deals involving the disappearance of millions of rubles meant to go back to Russia after the kroon national currency was launched.
Five years later, in 1999, he returned to the post, with his main policy goals being to pull the economy out of a slump and lead the country toward the European Union. He remained in the post until he stepped down in 2002.
Many credit Laar for leading Estonia through lightning economic reforms that won Western praise and ultimately laid the groundwork for rapid economic growth and acceptance to European Union entry talks. It is also believed that Laar's economic reforms led to the Baltic Tiger period starting for Estonia after 2000. But the reforms were tough, and Laar was hurt by scandal concerning the ruble deal and by a multimillion-dollar Israeli arms purchase.
Laar was the 2006 recipient of the Cato Institute's Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty which is awarded biannually to "an individual who has made a significant contribution to advancing human freedom."
Among his books are "War in the Woods: Estonia's Struggle for Survival, 1944-1956". It is about all those who refused to live in the "workers paradise" and who continued to fight in the woods against the soviet authoriy. ISBN 0-929590-09-0
| Preceded byTiit Vähi | Prime Minister of Estonia 1992 - 1994 |
Succeeded byAndres Tarand |
| Preceded byMart Siimann | Prime Minister of Estonia 1999 - 2002 |
Succeeded bySiim Kallas |