# Estonia elects Ülle Madise as next president after Riigikogu vote
Estonia's parliament has elected Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise as the country's next president after a single round of voting, setting up a transition that will end Alar Karis's tenure when she is sworn in on October 12.
The Riigikogu backed Madise with 71 votes in a secret ballot, comfortably clearing the 68-vote threshold needed to secure the presidency. The vote produced no invalid ballots, while seven papers were left unmarked. ERR reported that 78 members of the 101-seat parliament received ballots and all 78 took part in the vote.
The result makes Madise Estonia's seventh president and the second woman to hold the office. It also gives the country a new head of state after Karis confirmed in June that he would not seek another term.
Madise addressed lawmakers after the result was announced, saying she would do her best to be worthy of the trust placed in her. She said she hoped Estonia could accomplish a great deal through mutual understanding, vigorous debate when needed, and continued support for one another, so that life in the country would be happy, good and safe.
Karis congratulated his successor after the vote. In a post on social media, he said serving as head of state was both a great honour and an even greater responsibility, and wished Madise strength, wisdom and resolve as the handover approaches.
Madise arrives at the presidency from one of Estonia's most prominent constitutional offices. She has served as chancellor of justice since March 31, 2015, after earlier work in the Ministry of Justice, as an adviser to the Riigikogu Constitutional Committee, and as chief auditor at the National Audit Office. ERR also noted that she served as legal adviser to then-president Toomas Hendrik Ilves from 2009 to 2015.
Her election follows a summer in which she emerged as a leading apolitical candidate backed by several major parties. ERR described her as a jurist and legal scholar with a reputation for defending individual liberties, criticising over-regulation, and maintaining a non-partisan stance.
Madise's public profile has long been tied to law and constitutional oversight rather than party politics. According to ERR, she earned her law degree and master's degree from the University of Tartu, later completed a PhD in administrative management at the Tallinn University of Technology, and has taught public law and constitutional law at several Estonian universities. That background helps explain why she was able to emerge as a consensus candidate in a contest that, at least on the day of the vote, required only one round.
The constitutional path to the presidency is an important part of the story. Estonia's head of state is selected by parliament in this case, and Madise's victory came through a secret ballot rather than a public election. The swift first-round result spared lawmakers the need for further ballots and confirmed a clear majority behind a candidate who had already been presented as the only contender.
The handover now moves toward October 12, when Madise will formally take office as Estonia's next president.
