Vseviov is currently in his second term as the ministry's secretary general and is Estonia's former ambassador to Washington. Previously, he was secretary general at the Ministry of Defense.

Vseviov will submit his resignation on Thursday and will leave his post on November 1.

"I have devoted my entire life so far to protecting and developing Estonia as a diplomat and civil servant. I have had the honor of leading dedicated teams with whom we have shaped Estonia's foreign and defense policy and implemented many of the decisions that have brought us to where we are today," Vseviov said.

"Today, however, I see that protecting Estonia and moving it forward requires more than what I can do as a civil servant. That is why I have decided to leave the civil service, join the Social Democrats and run in the upcoming elections," he said.

SDE Chairman Lauri Läänemets said Estonia's security and its position in the international arena require strong leadership.

"Jonatan Vseviov knows Estonia's security and foreign policy inside out and has extensive international experience. He has shaped Estonia's defense policy, led the Ministry of Defense, represented Estonia as ambassador in Washington and headed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Läänemets said.

Vseviov took office as secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in February 2021. Before that, he had served as Estonia's ambassador to the United States since August 2018.

From 2008 to 2018, Vseviov worked at the Ministry of Defense, eventually becoming its secretary general.

Before being appointed secretary general in January 2016, Vseviov served as deputy secretary general for defense planning, acting deputy secretary general for defense policy and director of the policy planning department.

Vseviov graduated from the University of Tartu with a degree in political science and earned a master's degree with honors in security studies from Georgetown University.

From 1999 to 2005, Vseviov was a member of the Reform Party.

Vseviov to run for prime minister

Läänemets said the party reached an agreement with Vseviov in the summer. The deal included Vseviov becoming the SDE's candidate for prime minister. At the time, the media was linking the secretary general to a possible presidential bid.

Läänemets said at a press conference on Thursday morning that he will propose at a board meeting on November 1 that Vseviov stand as the party's prime ministerial candidate.

Läänemets told ERR the process began around a year ago, when he started thinking about how the party could achieve the best possible result in the 2027 Riigikogu elections.

Asked whether the agreement also included the position of candidate for prime minister, Läänemets said it did.

"The idea didn't start with me saying, 'Come into politics.' As secretary general, he attended government meetings when I was a minister, and you could see common ground developing from there. Ultimately, it was a process of growing closer on both sides."

Läänemets added that security determines a great deal in Estonia today and that, given Vseviov's experience and knowledge, he would make a very good next prime minister of Estonia.

"We came to the conclusion that we cannot move forward the way [Reform Prime Minister Kristen] Michal is doing things now. Or the way [Isamaa Chairman Urmas] Reinsalu would do them. And I'm not even going to talk about [Center's Mihhail] Kõlvart. Can anyone imagine Kõlvart negotiating with Russia on behalf of Ukraine?" the chairman said.

Vseviov said: "I will now first seek a mandate from the Social Democratic Party — specifically from the Social Democratic Party, because I see in this team the potential to be a responsible and forward-looking force at Estonia's helm. And if the party grants me that mandate, I will seek a mandate from the Estonian people."

Läänemets said he will continue as leader of the party and will also run in the elections.

'We are capable of more and deserve better'

Both men said Estonia must be able to assert itself more on the international stage and participate in various discussions concerning security.

"We must understand that the surest guarantee of our freedom is that it is also valuable to other like-minded countries. Our freedom must be valuable to others, and then others will value our freedom. For our freedom to be valuable to others, we need courage, sharpness of mind, intellectual reach and political reach as well, to bring Estonia back into Europe's political core. In doing so, we must understand that those who remain silent go unnoticed, so we must not remain silent. But those who rant are not listened to, so we must not rant either," Vseviov said.

"I feel that today we are desperately lacking both intellectual reach and the courage to assert ourselves," he added.

Vseviov said Estonia needs radical progress to survive, and that the Reform Party no longer offers this.

"If I believed that Estonia's current political leadership was up to the task, I would continue working as a civil servant and would not be standing here before you today. I am absolutely convinced that with the current leadership, we are incapable of sailing through this storm, and I believe that the team beside me and behind me is the team that today offers Estonia intelligent but also forward-looking policies," he said.

"Some want to tell us that we should be satisfied that the economy is no longer shrinking and that the war has not yet reached Estonia. My message is that we are capable of more and deserve better," he said.

Läänemets was more specific in his criticism of the government, saying that it should have responded immediately to the arson attack on defense industry company Milrem's production facility and made greater efforts to secure a seat at the table in discussions concerning Ukraine's security.

"As for Ukraine and the negotiations or conditions being imposed on Ukraine, the president of Finland and the Norwegian head of state are holding meetings, the Americans are going there, and I ask whether Estonia has even tried to have a say in this at the level of its national leadership, to get involved. Certain things are beyond the reach of civil servants; there are limits to what officials can do. But when such agreements are being made in one place or another and we are not invited, does that mean we should not at least try to have a say? We could start listing examples, both close to home and farther afield, where Kristen Michal simply takes the opportunity to do nothing," Läänemets said.

Vseviov said his decision to enter politics has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he was nominated as a presidential candidate.

Minister: Not a surprise to me

Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said Vseviov's move did not come as a surprise to him.

"For several years, I have encouraged senior civil servants to enter politics. And I am glad that some of them are doing so. Because there is a big difference between developing policies as a civil servant and literally putting your own skin in the game. Taking a mandate and assuming responsibility as a politician. So in that sense, it was not a surprise to me. Jonatan Vseviov informed me yesterday that he would be running in the elections with the Social Democrats," Tsahkna told ERR.

The minister did not want to comment on Vseviov joining the SDE, adding it is up to him to explain his ideological choices.

Tsahkna said he had not forced Vseviov to resign.

"But I didn't try to keep him either. We discussed it, and it was his own suggestion that these things are incompatible if you have decided to enter politics and are moving into the active campaign phase while simultaneously serving as secretary general. Although, yes, there is no legal requirement whatsoever for a person to leave their position. But it was his own wish, and as of November 1, Jonatan Vseviov will no longer be secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he said.

Tsahkna said there are no criteria for the next secretary general to come from within the ministry.

"But clearly, this person must not only understand foreign policy theoretically and be an expert, but also know how foreign and security policy is handled in Estonia and who is involved. It is certainly difficult to separate defense policy from foreign policy, because today they are very closely intertwined. So this person must be capable of working with everyone: the Riigikogu, the president, coordinating our own ministry, the Ministry of Defense, and also think tanks. And communicating with international partners. That is also extremely important," the minister said.

This story was updated to add comments from Margus Tsahkna, Jonatan Vseviov and Lauri Läänemets.

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