Two weeks after losing its defence minister amid a botched Ukraine procurement deal, Estonia has named a new person from the old guard to take his place.
The Ministry of Defence today confirmed that Martin Herem, once the top commander in the country’s military, has now taken on its highest-ranking defence role in government. He succeeds Hanno Pevkur, who stepped down after signing off on a high-risk ammunition purchase for Ukraine that went wrong.
While some in Estonia may have wanted a fresh face and a fresh start to tackle the mismanagement exemplified by the Ukraine ammunition sale, they won’t exactly be getting that here.
Herem is a well-known figure in Estonia’s defence community, with 30 years of experience in high-profile roles coving both some significant military positions as well as some interesting activities outside of them.
Military positions have included serving as the top commander of the Estonian Defence Forces from 2018 to 2024 and commandant of the Estonian National Defence College, the country’s top higher education institution for military personnel.
Outside of military roles, Herem has served as an advisor to private defence tech companies, including Frankenberg. The ministry confirmed that he has stepped away from private advisory roles to take on the role as defence minister.
And in June 2026 he was appointed the first “Professor of Resilience Futures” at the University of Tartu — a one-year commitment for this current academic year. Herem’s MoD bio page appears to confirm he’ll continue in that role as he takes on the government position.
Hit the ground running
Some might argue that Herem is a logical choice for the role right now to hit the ground running, given the current geopolitical climate in the country.
Estonia shares a border with Russia; it has been supporting Ukraine in its war against their common neighbour; and it has also been on a major programme to invest in, modernise and expand its own defences, anticipating that Russia’s aggression will only grow.
Herem’s appointment was made official and public on Wednesday, 16 September, but the cat’s been out of the bag effectively for the last week. Since that time, Herem has made media appearances outlining out some of his positions.
In one, he said the MoD’s accounting practices needed an overhaul; that investing in defence will be a whole-society project to secure critical industries and everyday resources as well as borders; and that Estonia needed to assess its reliance on the Baltic Sea should that come under threat. He also ruled out Kusti Salm, the CEO of Frankenburg, coming back into government.
In another, he came down very firmly on the side of aiding Ukraine, calling countries that do not, “criminal.”
We’ll have to see how his actions play out now that he’s formally in the role, and if his recent experience working with startups informs his actions. We’ll update this post as we learn more.
