Heads up – Embassy 31

From exile to Ambassador

Two decades ago, Aino Lepik von Wiren was an exile; today she is an Ambassador of an independent Estonia.

Speaking to Embassy in the year of the 20th Anniversary of Estonia’s liberation from Soviet occupation, the Ambassador reflects on her country’s remarkable transition to a stable democracy which is a member of the EU, NATO and the OECD club of industrialised nations.

All this would have seemed unthinkable as a young girl growing up in Sweden. But her father, Kalju Lepik, a preeminent Estonian poet, helped keep the dreams of a free Estonia alive, both for those living in exile and for those trapped behind the Iron Curtain back home in Estonia.

“Estonian poetry and literature were important during those years; in fact throughout history and the many occupations of Estonia, our language, singing and folk traditions were important in retaining our identity,” says the Ambassador.

Her father lived to see Estonia regain its independence and the family returned to Estonia soon after liberation. Lepik, a lawyer by profession, wasted no time offering her legal expertise to the new government. She helped draft important legislation for the new state, notably the citizenship law which was a delicate balancing act to help integrate the Estonian society without alienating its many minorities, particularly the large Russian community.

 “The aim is to integrate everybody into the Estonian society and that can’t happen over night,” explains Lepik, an expert on human rights who represented Estonia on the European Commission for Human Rights and the Council of Europe (1997-99). But rather than assimilation, she says Estonia encourages a multicultural society. “Everyone is integrated in a positive way, knowing the Estonian state language, but keeping their own language.”

Another milestone in her career was serving as Secretary of State for Estonia from 1999 to 2003, at a time when Estonia was making its final push towards EU and NATO membership. “It was an all-encompassing project that covered all institutions and all ministries,” recalls Lepik. “We were starting from scratch so it was a very steep learning curve but that also turned out to be an advantage because we could harmonise our legislation with the EU immediately. We also could come with fresh ideas and be quite modern in our approach.”

Innovation is something of a hallmark of the Baltic nation, she adds. The global phenomenon of Skype is its most famous, but Estonia’s cutting-edge use of technology extends to other areas such as e-government, e-banking and e-voting.

Following a posting in Portugal, Ambassador Lepik’s next big challenge at the Foreign Ministry was as Undersecretary for Legal and Consular Affairs at the time when Estonia was preparing to join Europe’s borderless Schengen area. “There was a lot to do as far as legislation was concerned and training border guards, so we had to work very closely with the interior ministry. But it was worth the effort,” says Lepik.

Estonia received another vote of confidence this year when it was invited to join the euro area, although the timing could have been better with economic crises afflicting some eurozone member states.

“It’s difficult times for the eurozone,” admits Lepik, “but I think in the long run it’s in Estonia’s interests to be a member of the eurozone for attracting investment and tourism. Our trade is to a very large extent with EU member states so it is natural to be part of Euro.”

While Britain is not part of the eurozone, it remains an important trading partner and one of the Ambassador’s top priorities is to increase the commercial ties between the countries, which have existed as far back as the medieval Hanseatic League.

There are many other areas of close cooperation, including defence, where Estonian soldiers fight along side British ones in Afghanistan. The two nations have a cultural affinity too – for example in Wales, where the two countries share a passion for choir singing, and recently the Embassy  organised Eesti Fest, a successful festival of music at King’s Place in London to celebrate 93 years of statehood.

Prior to London, Lepik was posted as a non-resident ambassador to Tel Aviv and concurrently headed the Estonian delegation on the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research. Estonia suffered under both Nazi and Soviet Occupation and remembering one’s history is important in order to move forward, she says.