Igor Schvede (born on 5 December 1970) is an Estonian Rear Admiral and the former Commander of the

Estonian Navy The Estonian Navy () are the unified naval forces among the Estonian Defence Forces. With only six commissioned ships and displacement well under 10,000 tonnes, the Estonian navy is one of the smallest navies in the world. Its ship prefix is EM ...

from 2007 to 2012.

Biography

Schvede was born in 1970 in, his military career began at the Leningrad Nakhimov Naval School. He later joined the

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

, receiving education at the Frunze Naval Academy (now the St. Petersburg Naval Institute), where he graduated with a bachelors in

Electromechanical Engineering Electromechanics combine processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focus on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems interact with each ...

. Schvede was commissioned in 1993 in the navy, the beginning of which he participated in the withdrawal of the

Soviet Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...

from Estonia. He has commanded Estonian two patrol craft. In 2005, he was deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. In 2012, he graduated from US Naval Command College. From 2007 to 2012, he commanded

. From 2013 to 2016, Schvede was Chief of Staff at the

Headquarters of the Estonian Defence Forces The Headquarters of the Estonian Defence Forces is the working body of the Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces and joint staff of the Estonian Defence Forces. Its main tasks include supporting the activities of the Commander and Deputy Comm ...

In August 2016, he was appointed as Estonia's representative to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. Since 2021, he has been an advisor at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. Schvede was given the rank of Rear Admiral in February 2020. He is a recipient of the

Order of the Cross of the Eagle The Order of the Cross of the Eagle (; ) was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a state order in 1936. The Order of the Cross of the Eagle is bestowe ...

of the Defence League.

Personal life

He is fluent in Estonian, English and Russian.

References

Living people 1970 births Estonian admirals Estonian people of Russian descent Saint Petersburg Naval Institute alumni {{Estonia-mil-bio-stub