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ALUMNI UPDATESIlves Elected President of Estonia
Toomas Hendrik Ilves ’76 (right), president of Estonia, with Eliot Goldman ’79.  Columbia has a new president - of Estonia, that is. Toomas Hendrik Ilves ’76 was elected the fourth president of the Baltic nation of Estonia on September 23, defeating the incumbent, Arnold Ruutel, in a 174-162 vote in the electoral assembly. Ilves, the College’s only reigning head of state, began his five-year term on October 9. Born in Stockholm to Estonian refugees, Ilves grew up in the United States and majored in psychology at the College. He was a journalist for Radio Free Europe, heading its Estonian service from Munich, and became actively involved in politics. Following Estonia’s independence in 1991, Ilves served as his country’s ambassador to the United States, Canada and Mexico and twice served as Estonia’s foreign minister. At 53, Ilves is the youngest elected head of state in the European Union. At Columbia, Ilves did research for Donald Hood, James F. Bender Professor in Psychology. Hood recalls Ilves as “a very decent, very nice, very smart person who everybody liked.” Several years ago, Ilves visited the College in an effort to develop a Core-type experience for Estonian students, and as a result the College participated in a faculty exchange program. By Alex Sachare ’71
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