Prime minister again tops Delfi's most influential people ranking
Kristen Michal tops Delfi and Ekspress Group's annual list of Estonia's most influential people, now revamped to include several previously unranked figures.
The 2025 ranking was compiled by last year's 100 most influential people.
In 2015, Delfi and Eesti Päevaleht partially based their choice of the most influential person on public polling data. In recent years, the ranking — both the overall winner and the rest — has been determined through internal voting and editorial discussions within Delfi Meedia's newsrooms.
This year's top spot goes to Prime Minister and Reform Party chair Kristen Michal. He is followed by opposition leader and Isamaa chair Urmas Reinsalu. European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas ranks third.
Composer Arvo Pärt is in fourth place and Margus Linnamäe, owner of Ekspress Group's rival, Postimees Group, takes fifth. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Jonatan Vseviov ranks sixth, Center Party chair Mihhail Kõlvart seventh and Bigbank majority owner Parvel Pruunsild eighth. Commander of the Defense Forces Andrus Merilo is ninth and State Secretary Keit Kasemets rounds out the top ten.
This year's list includes several journalists and editors-in-chief not featured in previous editions. It also contains a noticeably larger number of businesspeople and executives.
In total, the list features 100 individuals.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
