Second Reform minister resigns in a week as Andres Sutt steps down

Andres Sutt has announced his resignation as Minister of Energy and Environment, the second Reform Party government minister to leave office in the space of a week.
Sutt said he made the decision ahead of the March 2027 Riigikogu election, which he said he will not be running in.
Sutt said he had thoroughly considered his situation over a lengthy period of time, making his final decision in mid‑summer.
"During an election autumn, people always ask who will be running. This time around too, and me too. This time, my answer is no," Sutt noted on social media.
Sutt noted it is customary for a minister to run in elections, meaning now was the time for him to step down. "Consequently, it is only right to make room for the next person who will run in the elections and for me to return to the Riigikogu. At the Riigikogu I will help see through to the finish line both the energy and environmental bills which are halfway there. I will certainly be having my say on financial and fiscal matters. Naturally, I will also support the party and the next minister with advice," he continued.

The outgoing minister added he would remain active in national politics until the end of his Riigikogu mandate – up to the 2027 elections. "I will remain a member of the Reform Party and I am not going anywhere as far as Estonia is concerned," Sutt added.
He also expressed a desire to return to his professional field after eight years in politics, adding two parliamentary terms is the right time to move on after.
Sutt, 58, joined Reform in 2018 following a lengthy career at the Bank of Estonia (Eesti Pank), where he was vice governor from 2001 to 2009. He was made energy and environment minister in March 2025 at the start of the current Reform‑Eesti 200 administration, having already served as minister of enterprise and information technology in Kaja Kallas' first cabinet, from January 2021 to July 2022.
This is the second minister from the Reform Party to have resigned in the past week: Hanno Pevkur stepped down as defense minister after four years in the post, following controversy over a defense procurement deal. His replacement is due to be announced today, Wednesday.
Government ministers do not sit at the Riigikogu, but it is standard practice for them to run in elections as "vote magnets." Following an election and the formation of a new administration, those elected as MPs who are made ministers vacate their Riigikogu seats, which are usually given to the next highest‑polling candidate not to have secured a seat and from the same party's numerically ordered electoral list. Conversely, when they step down as a minister and return to the Riigikogu, as in Sutt's case, that alternate MP must vacate the seat for them.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Merilin Leetna











