Mart Helme is an Estonian politician, diplomat and musician who served as the Minister of the Interior from 2019 to 2020. He was the long time chairman of the national conservative Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) from 13 April 2013 to 4 July 2020 when he was succeeded by his son Martin Helme.
Mart Helme
Conservative People's Party of Estonia
The Conservative People's Party of Estonia is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Estonia, currently led by Martin Helme. It was founded in March 2012, with the merger of People's Union of Estonia and Estonian Patriotic Movement. Its first leader, Margo Miljand, served as the chairman until 2013 when he was succeeded by Mart Helme. Its popularity remained low until late 2014, when the party began to draw supporters from the right; further, in the 2015 Estonian parliamentary election, it passed the electoral threshold and won seats in parliament for the first time. Since then its support has grown, turning it into one of the largest parties in Estonia. In the 2019 Estonian parliamentary election, EKRE placed third, winning 19 seats in total. Mart was succeeded as party chairman by his son, Martin Helme, in July 2020.
A political demonstration in Tallinn on 24 February 2018 featured torchlights. The annual event has been organised by EKRE and the Blue Awakening to mark the Independence Day of Estonia