Ants Laaneots
Ants Laaneots | |
---|---|
Commander of the Defence Forces Chief of the General Staff | |
Battles/wars | 1987–1989 Ethiopian Civil War |
Awards | 1st Class of the Order of the Cross of the Eagle Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland Commander 1st class of the Order of the Polar Star Commander Degree of the Legion of Merit |
Ants Laaneots (born 16 January 1948) is an Estonian politician and former military officer. He was previously the
Early life and education
Laaneots was born on 16 January 1948 in
Career
From 1970 to 1978, he served as a platoon leader, company commander, and battalion commander of the 300th Tank Regiment for the
From 1987 to 1989, he deployed to Ethiopia where he spent one year as the military advisor to the commander of an infantry division, and a year and a half as the military advisor to the commanding general of an army corps participating in combat activities. Before his resignation from the Soviet Army in September 1991, he served as the Chief of Regional Department of Defence, Tartu in Estonia.[3]
After 1991
Laaneots was one of the founding-officers of the Estonian Army, defecting from the
In 1998, he was promoted to
Politics
As of 12 December 2011, he worked as prime minister Andrus Ansip's advisor in matters of national defence.[4] That job ended on 28 March 2014 at the end of Andrus Ansip's term in office.[5] Laaneots joined the Reform Party in late 2014.[6] In the 2015 parliamentary election, Laaneots was elected to the parliament with 5,907 individual votes.[7]
In 2016, after NATO soldiers in Estonia were targeted with racist insults by locals, Laaneots stated that Russians directed the vitriol in order to compromise the relationship between Estonia and the U.S.[8]
Effective dates of promotion
Soviet Army
Insignia | Rank | Date |
---|---|---|
Lieutenant (лейтена́нт) |
1970 | |
Senior Lieutenant (ста́рший лейтена́нт) |
1973 | |
Captain (капита́н) |
1975 | |
Major (майо́р) | 1979 | |
Lieutenant Colonel (подполко́вник ) |
1982 | |
Colonel (полко́вник) | 1987 |
Estonian Army
Insignia | Rank | Date |
---|---|---|
kolonel ) |
1992 | |
kindralmajor ) |
19 June 1998[9] | |
kindralleitnant ) |
18 February 2008[10] | |
kindral ) |
16 June 2011[11] |
Awards, decorations, and recognition
Awards and decorations
Estonian Awards and decorations | ||
1st Class of the Order of the Cross of the Eagle | 23 February 2012 | |
2nd Class of the Order of the Cross of the Eagle | 23 February 2000 | |
White Cross of the Estonian Defence League (I class) | 11 November 2011 | |
White Cross of the Estonian Defence League (III class) | ||
Cross of Merit of the Ministry of Defence (I class) | 23 February 2011 | |
Distinguished Service Decoration of the EDF | 23 February 1998 | |
Order of Merit of the Estonian Defence Forces | 18 February 2005 | |
Gold Cross of the Officer of Land Forces | ||
Navy decoration " Belief and the Will " Class II " Silver Anchor " | ||
Estonian Defence Forces General Staff Cross of Merit | 12 November 2003 | |
Merit Medal of the Defence League Special Class | ||
Memorial Medal "10 Years of the Re-Established Defence Forces" | ||
Armed Resistance Cross of Merit | ||
The Baltic Defence College Medal of Merit (gold) | ||
NCO School Medal of Merit | ||
Memorial Cross "Spearhead Admiral Pitka" | ||
Distinguished Service Decoration of the Police and Border Guard Board | ||
Police Cross of Merit 2nd class | ||
Golden Cross of the Rescue Board | ||
Border Guard Cross of Merit I Class | ||
Memorial Medal 10 Years of the Re-Established Border Guard (I Class) | ||
Cross of the Estonian Reserve Officers' Assembly (gold) | 12 June 2001[12] | |
Admiral Johan Pitka Brothers-in-Arms Club Medal of Merit | ||
St. George's Night Great Star | 2007[13] | |
Foreign Awards | ||
Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland | (Finland) | |
Commander Degree of the Legion of Merit | 4 July 2012 (U.S.) | |
Commander 1st class of the Order of the Polar Star | 18 January 2011 (Sweden) | |
Commemorative Medal of the Minister of Defense of the Slovak Republic First Class | 15 November 2011 (Slovakia) | |
Order of the Red Star | (Soviet Union) | |
Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" | ||
Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" |
Personal life
His main research interests include modern conflicts, conflicts involving small states/nations, development of national defence. Since 1999, he has 48 publications, among others 1 monograph, 3 academic papers published in international journals and 15 other academic papers.
In addition to the Estonian language, General Laaneots is fluent in English, Russian, Belarusian, and Finnish. He is an active member of the Estonian National Defence League and the Rotary Club. He is married to a Ukrainian-Moldovan woman named Natalia and has a son and a daughter (and four grandchildren).[2]
References
- ^ "Uudised 99/03/25". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
- ^ a b c "Антс Лаанеотс: у человека должны быть цель, амбиции и сила воли". Rus.Postimees.ee (in Russian). 9 December 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ^ Official Biography, http://www.nato.int/
- ^ Former Commander-in-Chief Ants Laaneots starts work as the Prime Ministers advisor (news in Estonian).
- ^ Laaneots left the position of Prime Ministers advisor (news in Estonian).
- ^ Generals Laaneots and Kert joined the Reform Party (news in Estonian).
- ^ "Riigikogu valimised 2015: Detailne hääletamistulemus". Vabariigi Valimiskomisjon. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ Klikushin, Mikhail (22 February 2016). "Estonia Wants More NATO Troops—But Only If They Aren't Black". The Observer. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ "38.Sõjaväeliste auastmete andmine". Office of the President. 19 June 1998. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
- ^ "45. Sõjaväeliste auastmete andmine". Office of the President. 18 February 2008. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
- ^ "150. A. Laaneotsale sõjaväelise auastme andmine". Office of the President. 16 June 2011. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
- ^ "EROK teeneteristi kavalerid". Eesti Reservohvitseride Kogu. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- ^ "Jüriöö teenetemärgi kavalerid". Jöriöö Park. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
External links
- Media related to Ants Laaneots at Wikimedia Commons