Liina Kersna (née Lepik; born 3 April 1980) 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 journalist, civil servant and politician. From 2021 to 2022 Kersna was the Minister of Education and Research.

Biography

Kersna graduated from

Lasnamäe Lasnamäe is the most populous administrative district of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The district's population is about 119,000, the majority of which is Russian-speaking. Local housing is mostly represented by 5–16 stories high panel b ...

General Secondary School in 1998 and from the

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.

in the field of journalism and public relations in 2005. She worked as a presenter and editor at

Eesti Rahvusringhääling Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) – ''Estonian Public Broadcasting'' – is a publicly funded and owned radio and television organisation created in Estonia on 1 June 2007 to take over the functions of the formerly separate Eesti Raadio ...

from 1998 to 2002. From 2002 to 2004, she worked as head of public relations of the

Federation of Estonian Student Unions A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

. In 2004, she worked as the Chief Specialist at the Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Affairs, as Deputy Director of the Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Estonia from 2005 to 2006, and was its head from 2006 to 2007. From 2007 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2013, Kersna was the Media Advisor to the

Government of Estonia The Government of the Republic of Estonia (''Estonian language, Estonian: Vabariigi Valitsus'') is the cabinet (government), cabinet of Estonia. Under the Constitution of Estonia, Constitution, it exercises executive power pursuant to the Cons ...

; From 2010 to 2012, she was the Director of Government Communications of the Government of Estonia. From 2013 to 2015, she was the head of the office of Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia. Kersna has been a member of the

Estonian Reform Party The Estonian Reform Party () is a liberal political party in Estonia. The party has been led by Kristen Michal since 2024. It is colloquially known as the "Squirrel Party" () or as "the Squirrels" (), referencing its logo. It was founded in ...

since 2015. She has been 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 ...

since 2015. She was the Minister of Education and Research in

Kaja Kallas' first cabinet Kaja Kallas's first cabinet was the Cabinet of Estonia between 26 January 2021 and 14 July 2022. It was a Grand coalition, grand Coalition government, coalition cabinet of the Estonian Reform Party, Reform Party and the Estonian Centre Party, Ce ...

. Kersna resigned on 30 June 2022 after criminal proceedings were opened up against her in respect of deviations from procurement rules to ensure the supply of rapid coronavirus tests for the schools during the

COVID-19 outbreak The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Soon after, ...

Personal life

Liina Kersna is married to

Vahur Kersna Vahur Kersna (also Vahur-Üllar Kersna; born on 4 February 1962) is an Estonian journalist, radio and television personality and caricaturist. In 1985, he graduated from Tartu State University in journalism. 1986–2007, he was the host for many ...

, with whom she has a son.

References

External links

LIINA KERSNA CV (Riigikogu website)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kersna, Liina 1980 births 21st-century Estonian women politicians Estonian journalists Estonian Reform Party politicians Estonian women journalists Government ministers of Estonia Living people Members of the Riigikogu, 2015–2019 Members of the Riigikogu, 2019–2023 Members of the Riigikogu, 2023–2027 Journalists from Tallinn Politicians from Tallinn University of Tartu alumni Women members of the Riigikogu Women television journalists Women government ministers of Estonia