Maire Aunaste (''née'' Ütt) 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.

Early life and family

Aunaste's father was Helmut-Endel Ütt and her mother's maiden name was Kalaus. She is the oldest of three siblings; her youngest sister is actress Eva Püssa and the middle sister is Tiina Prentsel.

Career

She was an

Estonian Television Eesti Televisioon (ETV) () is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broadcasting. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955. History Eesti Televisioon (''Estonian Television'') was launched on 19 ...

presenter for eight years, and a news reporter for ''

Aktuaalne kaamera Aktuaalne kaamera (''"Current camera"''; abbreviated AK) is an Estonian television news program shown in Eesti Televisioon Eesti Televisioon (ETV) () is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broa ...

''. For a total of 10 years, she hosted an

Eesti Televisioon Eesti Televisioon (ETV) () is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broadcasting. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955. History Eesti Televisioon (''Estonian Television'') was launched on ...

entertainment show ''Out With You'', and

Kanal 2 Kanal 2 is a privately owned Estonian television channel. Its literal name in English is "Channel 2". History The channel was established by Ilmar Taska. The channel started broadcasting on 1 October 1993, the first program seen on the new ...

's ''We''. On 27 April 2005, in a poll published by the magazine ''Week'', Aunaste was selected as the second best TV host with 626 votes, after

Anu Välba Anu Välba (born 14 May 1974) is an Estonian TV and radio host. She graduated from Tallinn University in television directing in 1998 but has been working as a hostess instead. Her credits include the TV morning programme "Terevisioon", weekly " ...

, and before

Eda-Ines Etti Eda-Ines Etti (, born 26 May 1981), also known as simply Ines, is an Estonian singer and songwriter. Etti represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song " Once in a Lifetime", placing fourth. Until their win the following ...

. In 2007, she came in second again in the same election, and this time Anu Välba was first and Aigi Vahing ( :et) third. In the

2015 Estonian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia on 1 March 2015. Advance voting was held between 19 and 25 February with a turnout of 33 percent. The Reform Party (Estonia), Reform Party remained the largest in the Riigikogu, winning 30 of the 101 s ...

, Aunaste won 679 votes.

Work on the radio

* 2004 - "Tuesdays with you"

Vikerraadio Vikerraadio is an Estonian national radio channel of Eesti Rahvusringhääling (formerly Eesti Raadio). It began broadcasting on April 3, 1967. Ingrid Peek has been the editor-in-chief since August 7, 2017. According to the Kantar Emor radio sur ...

culture program.

Work in print

Journalism

* Maire Aunaste is one of the founders of the magazine ''

Kroonika ''Kroonika'' (meaning ''The Chronicle'' in English) is an Estonian magazine. It is most popular among young Estonian-speaking readers aged between 13 and 30. History and profile ''Kroonika'' was established in 1996. Its previous publishers were ...

'' and was its first editor-in-chief. * In the magazine ''Naised'', she wrote about her life in America. Later these stories were published as a book ''Viis aastat peidus'' (''Five years in hiding''). * Has been a weekly columnist in ''

Õhtuleht ''Õhtuleht'' (''Evening Paper'') is the largest daily newspaper in Estonia. It is a tabloid newspaper. The newspaper is published in Tallinn in Estonian. History and profile ''Õhtuleht'' was established in 1944. On 3 July 2000 two rival tabl ...

''. * A columnist in ''

Maaleht ''Maaleht'' is the biggest weekly newspaper published in 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 S ...

''.

Fiction

Maire Aunaste has written three books: * ''"Iseennast kuulates"'' (''Listening to yourself,'') BNS, - The book is based on the texts of the Radio 2 broadcasts: "Only Love" and "Frankly about life". The tenet of this book is that absolutely all people want to be special. * ''"Viis aastat peidus"'', (''Five years in hiding,'') Magazine Publishers Ltd. 2008, - Book one of the Estonian TV presenter's life in the United States. What life really means to be illegal, if there are no official residence and work permit? How to earn the daily bread procurement, who was known as the home television, but now the only mention of human rights worker in the primary? "After these experiences I know that now there is nothing that can degrade me." says the author herself. * ''"Mitte ainult meestest"'', (''Not only about men''), 2009

Awards

* Häädemeeste municipality Freeman

References

Living people Estonian journalists Estonian women journalists Estonian television personalities University of Tartu alumni Women members of the Riigikogu Members of the Riigikogu, 2015–2019 21st-century Estonian women politicians Year of birth missing (living people) {{Estonia-journalist-stub