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Estonia

Melnick Natalia

Republic of Estonia

The territory of Estonia covers 45,227km2

Democraticparliamentary republicand is divided into 15counties.

Population of 1.34million

The capital and largest city isTallinn

68.8%Estonians,25.5%Russians,2.1%Ukrainians,1.2%Belarusians,2.4% others and unspecified

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Symbols

The Estonian coat-of-arms-has ancient roots and resembles both that of Denmark and of England.

-The three blue leopard-like creatures on a gold background were first used in 1219 as part of the coat-of-arms of the city of Tallinn and, later in history, of the Estonian province.

-In 1925, what is called the three lion coat-of-arms finally became the national coat-of-arms.

The Estonian Flag

-The origins of theEstonian flaglie within the national movement. In 1881, the Estonian Students' Union adopted blue, black and white as the colors of their student fraternity. At the end of that century, the colors became those of the nation. In 1920, Estonia conceived its flag in the same colors.Blue- the sky, loyalty to one's homelandBlack- the soil, diligenceWhite- simplicity, purity, hope for the future.

Other National Symbols:

Cornflower

Swallow

Cliffs on the northern coast of Estonia.

The Oak tree is sacred to Estonians

Tallinn

Tartu

The State. Structure.

Constitution

The Constitution of Estonia came into force in 1992 and is, in a number of ways, a compilation of aspects of Estonia's previous constitutions. It has continued the democratic spirit of the 1920 Constitution, with some added mechanisms to maintain the balance of power of the state.

The division of legislative, executive and judiciary power in Estonia

Type of powerTerritorial levelLegislative powerExecutive PowerJudiciary powerNational LevelThe ParliamentThe State Government and governmental agenciesThe Supreme CourtRegional LevelRegional governmental agencies, incl. county governorsCircuit courts;County and city courts and administrative courtsLocal LevelLocal councils and governments

The outlines of political system in Estonia

The President of the Republic

The President has mainly representative functions, although he still retains a number of executive powers.

The President may veto a parliamentary bill and have it sent back for revision, and his signature is required when appointing the Ministers of the Government.

He is also empowered to present the Parliament with the names of several higher officials.

The President is also the supreme commander of the armed forces.

The President is elected for a 5-year term by the Parliament. If a sufficient majority of votes is not forthcoming, he is elected by an electoral college which consists of representatives of local governments and members of the Parliament.

Toomas Hendrik Ilves(in office since 2006)

Parliament (Riigikogu)

The legislative body in which the supreme power of the state is vested is the Parliament which is elected by proportional representation. It has 101 members and is elected for a period of four years.

The Government

The Government of the Republic exercises executive power pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Estonia.

The President of the Republic shall, within 14 days after the resignation of the Government of the Republic, designate a candidate for Prime Minister-> to whom the President shall assign the task of forming a new Government

Taavi Roivas(in office since 26march 2014)

Thank you!!!