Alar Karis

President of the Republic of Estonia

Alar Karis is the President of the Republic of Estonia. Until taking office on 11th October 2021, he was the director of the Estonian National Museum (from 2018). President Karis served as the Auditor-General of the Republic of Estonia from 2013-2018, and before that as the rector of the Estonian University of Life Sciences from 2003-2007 and of the University of Tartu from 2007-2012. Most of President Karis’ scientific career has focused on research and teaching in molecular genetics and developmental biology. He has worked at universities in Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and joined the University of Tartu as a professor in 1999. His research has been among the most widely cited internationally of any Estonian scientist of his generation.