Just who is Arnold Ruutel?

Estonia's newly elected president was born on the island of Saaremaa and educated as an agronomist. He is a doctor of agricultural sciences and professor emeritus of the Estonian Agricultural University since 1991.

After faithfully serving as rector at the Estonian Agricultural University in 1967-1977, Ruutel was promoted to be secretary of agriculture in the central committee of the Estonian Communist Party.

He was deputy prime minister of the then Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic between 1978 and 1983 and chairman of the Supreme Council, installed in the post during the Soviet rule in 1983 and keeping it through Estonia's independence movement until 1992. Ruutel is currently a member of the Riigikogu (Estonia's parliament). President Lennart Meri's term of office expires on Oct. 7, and Ruutel is due to be sworn into office the following day.

According to his last year's tax declaration, Ruutel has two houses, in Tartu and Saaremaa, and one swanky four-room apartment in the capital.

He drives a Volvo 460, which was made in that eventful year of 1990.