Estonian culture minister elected to World Anti-Doping Agency board
Culture Minister Heidy Purga (Reform) will be the first Estonian ever to sit on the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) board.
Purga will represent the EU and was elected to the post by the Council of the European Union. Sport in Estonia falls under the culture ministry's remit.
"As the representative of the EU, I stand up in the founding body above all for European interests, while at the same time this will allow us to share Estonia's best practices and experience in promoting fair and ethical sport. Since the end of 2023, Estonia has taken on an increasingly important role in the global fight against doping – we have been actively involved in UNESCO's anti-doping activities and now also in WADA's governance," Purga said.
"[Tuesday's] decision is recognition of our country's anti-doping efforts and for the first time gives us the opportunity to have a say at the table of such a large and significant international sports organization's governing body," she added.
The WADA founding body, as the board is known, is made up of 42 members, who play a central role in its governance and strategic direction, approve its long-term strategy, priorities, and action plans, as well as its various rules and policies, including the World Anti-Doping Code and international standards.
The board also approves the agency's annual budget and funding scheme and appoints and oversees the work of WADA's executive committee, president, and vice president.
The WADA founding body next meets in Busan, South Korea, in early December, when a new World Anti-Doping Code and accompanying international standards are due to be adopted, coming into effect from 2027. WADA's budget for the next year and the budget framework for 2026–2028 will also be approved.
WADA is an international organization based in Canada that leads the global fight against doping in sports through research, education, capacity development, and enforcement of the World Anti-Doping Code in collaboration with over 650 sports organizations, including the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee, and more than 140 governments.
Doping in sport can include the use of banned performance-enhancing substances, as well as blood doping: The removal of a quantity of an athlete's blood which is kept in cold storage and reintroduced to their body just before competition.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste
