Estonia's Riigikogu parliament elected Ulle Madise as president of Estonia for a five-year term on September 2, with 71 lawmakers voting in favor and 7 against in a secret ballot. ^[1][2] Ulle Madise, the former justice chancellor of Estonia, was elected president on Wednesday with 71 votes from the 101-member Riigikogu. ^[3] The Estonian presidency is largely ceremonial; political power lies with the prime minister and government, but the president must sign new laws before they take effect, can veto legislation, nominates the person with the most parliamentary support for prime minister after elections, and appoints and dismisses ministers on the prime minister's recommendation. ^[4] Ülle Madise, a 51-year-old lawyer and Estonia's human rights ombudsman since 2015, is the second woman in Estonian history to be elected president. ^[5] Representatives of Estonia's Conservative People's Party challenged Ulle Madise's eligibility to run for president, arguing that combining the posts of Chancellor of Justice and presidential candidate violated the separation of powers; Estonia's Supreme Court rejected the complaint. ^[6] Ulle Madise was the sole candidate in the election; outgoing president Alar Karis, who had led Estonia since 2021, did not seek a second term for personal reasons. ^[7] Ulle Madise, 51, is a lawyer with a doctorate in law who previously worked at the Justice Ministry and the parliament's Constitutional Committee, served as a legal adviser to the president, and has been Chancellor of Justice since 2015, an independent official overseeing the legality of the legislative and executive branches. ^[8] Madise was the only candidate in the election and won in the first round of voting. ^[9] Madise will be sworn in for a five-year term on October 12, 2026. ^[10] Madise secured the election by obtaining the 68 votes required for a two-thirds majority in the 101-seat Riigikogu. ^[11] The country's defense spending represents a 42 percent increase from last year's 1.7 billion euros. ^[12]