Kaupo Kikkas
It’s not every day you come across a 35-year-old head of government, which—let’s face it—is probably a good thing for everyone involved. The last thing we need is a bunch of Millennial prime ministers posting selfies to Facebook while driving, or constantly complaining about their student loan debt.
The reason I bring this up, if somehow you haven’t guessed, is that Estonian prime minister Taavi Rõivas is only 35 years old—making him (probably) the youngest prime minister in the world. He is also (probably) the only prime minister married to a runner-up from the hit show Estonian Pop Idol.
Both of these things might make Rõivas seem like an unusual choice for prime minister. But what Rõivas lacks in experience, he makes up for in being too young to have been involved in some kind of corruption scandal. Plus, he’s agile, like a gazelle. Former prime minister Andrus Ansip gushed that Rõivas is “young,” and “reacts fast” (really!) This makes him perfect for Estonia, whose main foreign policy strategy is to freak out Russia with reckless displays of impulsive behavior.
Weirdly, Rõivas isn’t even the youngest prime minister that Estonia has had since declaring independence in 1991. Mart Laar was elected prime minister at the age of 32, which is younger than my cat. (My cat is really old, I know.)
All kidding aside, I’m sure that Taavi Rõivas is a great prime minister. And if things don’t work out, he’s still young enough to join the army!