US Senate confirms lawyer Roman Pipko as new ambassador to Estonia
The United States Senate has confirmed Estonian-born lawyer Roman Pipko as new ambassador to Estonia, the U.S. Embassy has announced.
President Donald Trump nominated Pipko, 65, as ambassador-designate to Estonia. The Senate ratified him on Tuesday, with 51 senators voting in favor, 47 against.
"Congratulations to Roman Pipko on his Senate confirmation to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Estonia," the embassy posted on its social media account.
"The U.S. Embassy in Tallinn looks forward to welcoming you and working together on the POTUS's agenda to make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous while strengthening our longstanding partnership and alliance with Estonia," the post continued.
Congratulations to Roman Pipko on his Senate confirmation to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Estonia! The U.S. Embassy in Tallinn looks forward to welcoming you and working together on @POTUS's agenda to make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous while strengthening our… pic.twitter.com/huaAYy3krh
— U.S. Embassy Tallinn (@USEmbTallinn) October 8, 2025
When nominating Pipko earlier this year, Trump noted that he had represented U.S. interests at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as well as the Russian-American Enterprise Fund. Pipko has also represented U.S. companies and negotiated projects ranging from Europe to Africa.
His work has also included sanctions enforcement.
At his hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Pipko highlighted Estonia's defense spending level, which already exceeds the 5 percent of GDP Trump has called for, and noted that Estonia has been referred to, thanks to its actions and example, as somewhat of a U.S. "megaphone" in persuading other NATO countries to do the same.
Pipko was born in 1960 in Estonia, emigrating to the U.S. with his mother in 1981.
Riigikogu MP Valdo Randpere (Reform), who was a contemporary of Pipko's when both were at the University of Tartu's faculty of law, recalled him as a bright student, while former government minister Taavi Aas who encountered Pipko in the course of business negotiations in Estonia, said he conducted his work as a lawyer "very professionally,"
In 1991 and again from 2009 to 2015, Pipko was a legal adviser to U.S. investors on two Estonia-related business projects — negotiations over the renovation of the Kunda cement factory in Lääne-Viru County, and later over the redevelopment of Tallinn's Linnahall, though neither project came to fruition.
Pipko's daughter Elizabeth, a spokesperson for the Republican Party and a media figure in her own right, has worked for Donald Trump's campaigns since 2016. She has also expressed support for Ukraine.
Pipko's predecessor as U.S. Ambassador to Estonia, George P. Kent, stepped down from the post early on this year.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Valner Väino
