Estonia’s Ambassador to NATO Presented his Credentials

05.09.2012

No 308-E

On Monday, 3 September, Estonia’s ambassador to NATO, Lauri Lepik, presented his credentials to the Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

The discussion after the presentation touched upon issues that are important to both Estonia and the alliance. In regard to collective defence, both Secretary General Rasmussen as well as Ambassador Lepik assured that it has been and remains one of the main tasks of NATO. Accordingly, it is important to maintain defence spending levels, where Estonia’s 2 per cent is an example to other states.

Concerning cyber defence, the Secretary General thanked the cyber defence centre located in Tallinn for its good work. Ambassador Lepik assured that Estonia continues to contribute to NATO operations in Afghanistan, as the solidarity of the allies is essential for a successful conclusion to the ISAF mission. Both parties also underlined the importance of partners to NATO.

Lauri Lepik was born on 14 October 1960. He graduated from Tallinn Pedagogical University with a degree in librarianship and computer science and the Humboldt University in Germany with a degree in political science. Ambassador Lepik has worked as a diplomat since 1995, when he took the position of adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1996-1999, Lepik worked as the deputy head and then for a year as a defence adviser at the Estonian Embassy in Washington. From 2004-2005, Lepik worked on the security and defence issues of the European Union at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Ministry of Defence. He was an adviser until 2008 and until 2011 the deputy head of Estonia’s permanent representation to NATO. Prior to assuming the present office, Lepik was Estonia’s ambassador to Ukraine and Moldova.

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