European Parliament President Honors Siim Kallas, Architect of Estonia’s Post-Soviet Transformation

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola paid tribute to former Estonian Prime Minister and European Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas on Saturday, following the announcement of his death by his daughter, EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas.

“It is with sadness that I must announce that my dear father, Siim Kallas, passed away last night,” Kaja Kallas wrote on Instagram.

Kallas, who was 77, served as Estonia’s first European commissioner starting in 2004. Metsola highlighted the resolve required to reconstruct Estonia and establish its national currency in the 1990s, as well as the steady influence he later brought to Brussels.

“I was saddened to learn of the passing of former Prime Minister and EU Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas,” Metsola posted on X. “I am thinking of the courage it took to build the state and introduce our own currency in the early 1990s, and the quiet conviction he brought with him to Brussels years later. Estonia and Europe are better off because of his life’s work.”

She extended her condolences to his family, including his daughter, the EU High Representative. “Kaja Kallas and the whole family: I am deeply sorry for your loss. I wish you strength and warmth during this difficult time,” Metsola added.

The European Commission also issued a statement on X expressing sympathy and honoring the Kallas family.

Born in 1948, Kallas was an economist who led the Bank of Estonia (Eesti Pank) from 1991 to 1995, overseeing the creation of the national currency, the kroon. He went on to serve as Estonia’s Prime Minister before becoming European Commissioner for Transport and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2010 to 2014.

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