An economist by training, Kallas started his career as president of the Bank of Estonia in 1991, where he was one of the principal architects of the country’s monetary reform. In 1994, he founded the liberal-democratic Reform Party and was elected to the Estonian parliament the following year, when he became foreign affairs minister.
Kallas was a key figure in the Baltic country’s European trajectory: After his appointment as foreign minister, he oversaw Estonia’s bid to join the EU. He was prime minister in 2002, when the country concluded negotiations to become a member and was invited to join NATO.
His daughter, Kaja Kallas, was Estonia’s youngest-ever serving prime minister, holding office from 2021 to 2024. She is now the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s second term.