Veiko-Vello Palm (born on 29 May 1971) is a retired

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 Major General of the

Estonian Defence Forces The Estonian Defence Forces () is the unified military force of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consists of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary Estonian Defence Leagu ...

. He commanded the Estonian Division from 2023 until his retirement in 2024.

Early life

Veiko-Vello Palm was born on 29 May 1971. He attended the Tallinn 21st School, which he graduated in 1989.

Military career

Veiko-Vello Palm started his military career with the Estonian Defence Forces in 1992 as conscript in

Kalev Infantry Battalion The Kalev Infantry Battalion () is an infantry battalion of the Estonian Land Forces. It is a part of the 1st Infantry Brigade (Estonia), 1st Infantry Brigade and its primary task is to train conscription-based mechanized infantry units. The batt ...

. Between 1992 and 1994 he studied at the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences. He received his bachelor's degree in 2001 from the National Defence University of Finland, and a master's degree in 2005 from the same university. He has also attended various other courses during his career - officer course in 1996, battalion commander course (armored forces) in 2003, NATO Combat Readiness Evaluation Course in 2007, higher management and higher national defence courses in 2018. He has served in many various positions throughout his military career. Between 1995 and 1996, he served in the North Single Infantry Company. In 1997, he served as a staff officer in the Headquarters of the Defence Forces. From 2001 to 2002, he served in the Headquarters of the Land Force. After that, until 2003, he worked as a lector in the

Estonian Military Academy The Estonian Military Academy () is an institution of applied higher education for national defence in Tartu, Estonia. The institutions mission is to train and educate regular officers for the Estonian Defence Forces and Estonian Defence Leag ...

. Between 2005 and 2007, he served as Chief of Staff in Tapa Training Center. After serving as an

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

staff officer in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2008, he returned to the Headquarters of the Defence Forces. In 2009, he joined the

Multinational Corps Northeast The Multinational Corps Northeast was formed on 18 September 1999 at Szczecin, Poland, which became its headquarters. It evolved from what was for many years the only multinational corps in NATO, Allied Land Forces Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland ...

as a senior staff officer. During his time with MCN, he served a second stint in Afghanistan with ISAF. He moved on to the Estonian Ministry of Defence as chief of the Defence Planning Department in 2012. In 2015, he became the commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade. In 2018, he was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Headquarters of the Defence Forces. He was named Deputy Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces in 2021. In 2023 Palm was appointed the first commander of the Estonian Division. Palm retired from the Estonian Defence Forces in March 2024.

Personal life

Veiko-Vello Palm is married and has two children. In addition to the Estonian language, he can speak English, Russian, and Finnish.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Palm, Veiko-Vello Living people 1971 births 21st-century Estonian military personnel Estonian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Estonian major generals Military personnel from Tallinn