Imre Siil ⟩ There have always been prime ministers who saw someone more suitable for them as the state secretary

State Secretary Taimar Peterkop at open day of the Government Office. Photo: Mihkel Maripuu

In fact, the recent debate over the nature of the post of the state secretary is nothing new. Such debates have been held with various degrees of intensity since Estonia regained its independence. At one point, though, they subsided for a while, as if everything had finally been sorted out, but as it now appears, this is not the case, writes Imre Siil, former director of the Government Office.

In the Republic of Estonia between the world wars, only one man, Karl Johannes Terras, held the post of state secretary, and then the matter really seemed to be quite clear, that is, the state secretary could be considered the bearer of the continuity of the civil service and the guarantor of the stability of the entire state administration.

When Estonia had regained its independence, Ülo Kaevats became the first state secretary, appointed by the new prime minister, Mart Laar. Although the Government Office was a different body at the time than it is now, it had taken over the functions of the Administrative Department of the Soviet-era Council of Ministers, and these functions, as well as the various subdivisions for their execution, were, moreover, very numerous. Not only that – at first their numbers even increased as several new areas emerged that needed to be dealt with and which were then thought to be best suited to be handled by the Government Office, which was considered to be relatively neutral politically.

So, for instance, a department was created within the Government Office to coordinate the development of the state's information systems. At that time, more than 1,200 people worked under the state secretary, essentially making the Government Office a Ministry of the State. The state secretary had (and still has) the same rights in managing the Government Office as a minister. He or she was also regarded as the highest representative of the entire civil service and, following the example of Terras, as the bearer of the continuity of state administration. Among other duties, the state secretary held regular meetings with the secretaries general of all ministries, who were then also seen rather as apolitical civil servants.

However, many politicians at the time didn't think it right to have a state secretary with such broad powers, arguing that the state secretary should not be in charge of directing the development of any particular area of life, which should remain the preserve of politicians. That is, the competence of the relevant minister – thus trying to emphasize the apolitical nature of the office of state secretary. The tasks of the Government Office were gradually reduced, with a number of areas transferred from the Government Office to the ministries, i.e. to political governance. Whether this was always necessary – such as in the case of the state information systems, which indeed needed coordination from a single point, and thanks to which the development of the Estonian e-state got off to a good start – is another question.

However, the neutrality of the state secretary came into serious doubt when the government of Tiit Vähi took office.

However, the neutrality of the state secretary came into serious doubt when the government of Tiit Vähi took office, as immediately after becoming prime minister, Vähi, a Coalition Party politician, dismissed Ülo Kaevats, who had previously been a Social Democrat and had held the position of state secretary under two prime ministers, and appointed to the post Uno Veering, who had been the minister of state during the previous Tiit Vähi government, the so-called government of officials, heading the post-Administrative Department Government Office. Veering, unlike Kaevats, had been trained as a lawyer, although getting his degree during the Soviet era, and in the future it began to be believed that since the Government Office is responsible, among other things, for the legality of the legislation of the Government of the Republic, the state secretary should have a degree in law. And the corresponding provision was introduced into the Government of the Republic Act.

Uno Veering stepped down as the state secretary himself, after hitting a police superintendent's car while driving mildly intoxicated – coincidentally just after Mart Laar had become prime minister again – and the post was taken over by Aino Lepik von Wirén, who, like Laar, was a member of Isamaa. She also managed to survive the government of Siim Kallas of the Reform Party. Juhan Parts, the leader of Res Publica, took over as prime minister in 2003, and shortly afterwards the state secretary changed again. Heiki Loot was able to hold the post for a full 15 years, during several governments. It was not until Jüri Ratas became prime minister that the state secretary changed again.

Thus, since Estonia regained its independence, the state secretary has not been able to serve, very consistently at least, as the bearer of continuity for the civil service and the government's work, as there have always been prime ministers who have wanted to see someone with political views closer to their own or otherwise more suitable for them in the position of state secretary.