Reform, IRL name new ministerial candidates

TALLINN - The makeup of Estonia's new government has become clear as the two coalition parties have named their ministerial candidates.

Estonian national elections earlier this month saw the ruling Reform party return to power alongside coalition parters IRL. Coalition talks resulted in a division of power similar to the previous government, with Prime Minister Andrus Ansip staying on as head of government. 

IRL yesterday named its ministerial candidates, while Reform announced its picks late last week. Now that both parties have put forward their list of ministerial candidates, the makeup of the new government has largely been determined.

Parties put forward the following candidates for the new government:

Prime Minister -- Andrus Ansip (Reform, incumbent)
Speaker of Parliament -- Ene Ergma (IRL, incumbent)
Interior Ministry -- Ken-Marti Vaher (IRL)
Defense Ministry -- Mart Laar (IRL)
Justice Ministry -- Kristen Michal (Reform)
Culture Ministry -- Rein Lang (Reform, formerly Justice Minister)
Education Ministry -- Jaak Aaviksoo (IRL, formerly Defense Minister)
Environment Ministry -- Keit Pentus (Reform)
Foreign Ministry -- Urmas Paet (Reform, incumbent)
Social Affairs Ministry -- Hanno Pevkur (Reform, incumbent)
Finance Ministry -- Jürgen Ligi (Reform, incumbent)
Economy Ministry -- Juhan Parts (IRL, incumbent)
Agriculture Ministry -- Helir-Valdor Seeder (IRL, incumbent)
Regional Ministry -- Siim Valmar Kiisler (IRL, incumbent)