Estonian president withdraws her bid for position of OECD secgen

TALLINN - President Kersti Kaljulaid, proposed as the Estonian candidate for the position of the secretary general of the OECD by the Estonian Foreign Ministry in October, announced today that she withdraws her bid for the position.

"OECD is a consensual organization and the main aim was to choose for the next secretary general the candidate who has the widest support. Consultations with different OECD member states have led to the conclusion that for several countries me taking the position after the end of my term as president of Estonia would not be the best solution in these turbulent times. Therefore, I will withdraw my candidacy," Kaljulaid was quoted by the office of the president as saying.

The president thanked the staff of the Foreign Ministry, outgoing prime minister Juri Ratas and the members of his cabinet for their efforts in supporting the Estonian candidacy. 

"This is the first time for Estonia to actively pursue an international position of such weight and as a country we have learned a lot from the process. I believe that these consultations have also helped us nudge the agenda of OECD and create a better understanding of the challenges created by the digitization of societies to the world economy and countries," the head of state added. Kaljulaid expressed her gratitude to all countries which supported her candidacy and added that there were no weak candidates in the running.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) brings together countries committed to democracy, human rights and the market economy. The headquarters of OECD are in Paris and the term of office of the current Secretary General Angel Gurria ends in June. Candidates for the position of the next secretary general were proposed also by Czechia, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Unites States and Greece.

Estonia joined the OECD in 2010. OECD countries have extensive cooperation, sharing experiences and seeking jointly solutions for common problems.