Estonia's president named lawmaker Rein Randver as the country's new environment minister Tuesday after his predecessor resigned last week amid accusations of improper land deals.
TALLINN, Estonia -- Estonia's president named lawmaker Rein Randver as the country's new environment minister Tuesday after his predecessor resigned last week amid accusations of improper land deals.
Randver, 50, a member of the Riigikogu, or parliament, since 2003, was picked by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who was sworn in on Monday. Randver replaced Villu Reiljan who resigned last week after his ministry was linked to a shady deal involving land swaps.
A member of the People's Union Party and graduate of the Estonian Agricultural Academy, Randver is a former municipal politician and farmer from the southern town of Valga.
Reiljan resigned Friday after the state prosecutor's office launched a criminal investigation into business transactions between the Land Board, which manages state-owned land under the auspices of the Environment Ministry, and Merko Ehitus, the Baltic country's largest construction company.
Source: Associated Press
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