Marina Kaljurand sworn in as new foreign minister of Estonia

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Marina Kaljurand assumed the office of foreign minister of Estonia by taking an oath before parliament on Thursday.

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves appointed Kaljurand, a career diplomat, as Estonia's foreign minister on Wednesday.

Kaljurand has been working in the Foreign Ministry since 1991, serving among other things as Estonia's ambassador to the United States, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Russia, Israel and Canada. She played an important role as an expert and negotiator in the process of Russian troops' withdrawal from Estonia in 1994 and in negotiations on the land and maritime borders between Estonia and Russia, as well as in Estonia's accession talks with the European Union and the OECD.

Kaljurand earned her law degree from the University of Tartu and also has a professional diploma from Estonian School of Diplomacy. She obtained a master's degree in international law and diplomacy in Tufts University.

Her predecessor Keit Pentus-Rosimannus resigned on July 1 after a court ruling which made her partly liable for the debt accumulated by her father's bankrupt road haulage company.

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