Jaak Aab (; born 9 April 1960) is an Estonian politician who has served as Minister of Education and Research and three times as the Minister of Public Administration from 2017 to 2018, from 2019 to 2020 and from 2011 to 2022 and as the Minister of Social Affairs from 2005 to 2007. From 1994 until 5 January 2024, he was a member of the

Estonian Centre Party The Estonian Centre Party (, EK) is a populist political party in Estonia. It was founded in 1991 as a direct successor of the Popular Front of Estonia, and it is currently led by Mihhail Kõlvart. The party was founded on 12 October 1991 f ...

before joining the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. He is the former mayor of

Võhma Võhma is a List of cities and towns in Estonia, town in Põhja-Sakala Parish, Viljandi County, central Estonia. History The settlement dates to the sixteenth century. The German-language name of the town was Wöchma. It began to grow when a ra ...

and has served in the IX, XI, XIV and XV Riigikogu.

Life

Jaak Aab attended school in Ala (

Helme Parish Helme Parish () was a rural Municipalities of Estonia, municipality of Estonia, in Valga County. It had a population of 2,525 (as of 1 January 2009) and an area of 312.73 km2. Geography Populated places There was Populated places in Esto ...

Valga County Valga County ( or ''Valgamaa'') is a first-level administrative unit and one of 15 counties of Estonia. It comprises the former area of Valga District. The present-day county was created on 1 January 1990. The capital and largest town of Valga Co ...

) and in

Viljandi Viljandi (, , , , ) is a Populated places in Estonia, town and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,255 in 2024. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major ...

. After graduating from high school in 1978, he studied to become a teacher in

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

from 1978 to 1986 at the Pedagogical Institute in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

(''Tallinna Pedagoogiline Instituut'', today known as the

University of Tallinn Tallinn University (TLU; , ''TLÜ'') is a public research university in Estonia. Located in the centre of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Tallinn University is one of the three largest institutions of higher education in the country. Both Q ...

). From 1984 to 1991, he was active as a teacher in Ala and

. From 1991 to 1994, Aab worked in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Upon returning to Estonia, Aab started working in politics. From November 1994 to January 1996, he served as a senior mayor of the city of

. From August 1998 to February 2002, Aab held the office of senior mayor. From February 2002 to March 2003, Aab was the representative in the Estonian Parliament (

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 ...

). From July 2003 to April 2005, he was the executive director of the Association of Estonian Cities and Muncipilaties (''Eesti Linnade ja Valdade Liit''), before Prime Minister

Andrus Ansip Andrus Ansip (; born 1 October 1956) is an Estonian politician, a member of the European Parliament, the former European Commissioner for Digital Single Market and Vice President of the European Commission, in office from 2014 until 2019. Previo ...

appointed him to his

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

in 2005. From 13 April 2005 to 5 April 2007, Jaak Aab was the Minister of Social Affairs of the Republic of Estonia. Since April 2007, Aab has been a representative of the Estonian Parliament and acting chairman of the Social Committee.

Personal life

Jaak Aab was married to teacher Kaie Aab (born 1958). The couple had two daughters. Since 2020 is married to Marian Aab (née Kullerkupp).

References

External links

* Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs
short biography

External links

1960 births Living people Politicians from Tõrva Parish Estonian Centre Party politicians Social affairs ministers of Estonia Education and Research ministers of Estonia Members of the Riigikogu, 1999–2003 Members of the Riigikogu, 2007–2011 Members of the Riigikogu, 2019–2023 Members of the Riigikogu, 2023–2027 Mayors of places in Estonia Tallinn University alumni {{Estonia-1999-Riigikogu-politician-stub