Ene Ergma (born 29 February 1944) is an
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
n
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
, a member of the
Riigikogu
The Riigikogu (, from Estonian ''riigi-'', "of the state", and ''kogu'', "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chi ...
(Estonian parliament), and
scientist
A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...
. She was a member of the political party
Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica
Isamaa () is a Christian democratic and national conservative political party in Estonia.
It was founded on 4 June 2006 under the name of "Pro Patria and Res Publica Union", by the merger of two conservative parties, Pro Patria Union and Res ...
and, before the two parties merged, a member of
Res Publica Party
Res Publica Party () was a political party in Estonia that self-identified as conservative. Established as a party on 8 December 2001, the political organisation Res Publica was founded already as early as 1989 and existed as a community of you ...
. On 1 June 2016, Ergma announced her resignation from the party, because the party had lost its identity and turned populist.
Education and scientific career
Ergma received her Diploma ''cum laude'' (BSc/MSc equivalent) in astronomy and PhD in physics and mathematics from Lomonosov
Moscow State University
Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...
, and a DSc degree from Institute of Space Research, Moscow. Before entering politics she worked as a professor of
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
at
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country. ,
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
(since 1988). In 1994, she was elected to the
Estonian Academy of Sciences
Founded in 1938, the Estonian Academy of Sciences (, ) is Estonia's national academy of science in Tallinn. As with other national academies, it is an independent group of well-known scientists whose stated aim is to promote research and develo ...
. Most of her scientific research has been done on the evolution of the
compact object
In astronomy, the term compact object (or compact star) refers collectively to white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. It could also include exotic stars if such hypothetical, dense bodies are confirmed to exist. All compact objects have a ...
s (such as
white dwarfs
A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place in a white dwarf; what ...
and
neutron stars
A neutron star is the gravitationally collapsed core of a massive supergiant star. It results from the supernova explosion of a massive star—combined with gravitational collapse—that compresses the core past white dwarf star density to th ...
) and also
gamma ray burst
In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are extremely energetic events occurring in distant galaxies which represent the brightest and most powerful class of explosion in the universe. These extreme electromagnetic emissions are second ...
s.
Political career
From March 2003 until March 2006, Ergma was
Speaker of the Riigikogu. From March 2006 to April 2007, she was the second Vice-President of the Riigikogu. On 2 April 2007 she was re-elected as
Speaker of the Riigikogu and kept the post until March 2014.
Ergma was the only candidate in the first round of the
2006 presidential election in the
Riigikogu
The Riigikogu (, from Estonian ''riigi-'', "of the state", and ''kogu'', "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chi ...
on 28 August 2006. She gathered 65 votes, 3 votes less than the at least 2/3 of the Riigikogu votes necessary for the election.
She also ran along
Volli Kalm and Birute Klaas for the presidency of University of Tartu, but was not elected.
She is the chairwoman of the Space Research Committee of the Riigikogu.
See also
*
List of Estonians
This is a list of notable people from Estonia, or of Estonian ancestry.
Architects
* Andres Alver (born 1953)
* Dmitri Bruns (1929–2020)
* Karl Burman (1882–1965)
* Eugen Habermann (1884–1944)
* Georg Hellat (1870–1943)
* Otto Pius Hip ...
References
1944 births
Living people
People from Rakvere
Politicians from Lääne-Viru County
Res Publica Party politicians
Isamaa politicians
Members of the Riigikogu, 2003–2007
Members of the Riigikogu, 2007–2011
Members of the Riigikogu, 2011–2015
Speakers of the Riigikogu
20th-century Estonian physicists
20th-century Estonian women scientists
Members of the Estonian Academy of Sciences
Moscow State University alumni
Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 2nd Class
21st-century Estonian women politicians
20th-century women scientists
21st-century Estonian physicists
21st-century Estonian women scientists
Estonian women physicists
Women members of the Riigikogu
Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class
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