The Minister of Defence is the senior minister at the Ministry of Defence in the Estonian Government. The minister is one of the most important members of the Estonian government, with responsibility for coordinating the governments policies on national defence and the military forces. The defence minister is chosen by the prime minister as a part of the government.

Konstantin Päts was an Estonian statesman and the country's president in 1938–1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades prior to World War II he also served five times as the country's prime minister. After the 16–17 June 1940 Soviet invasion and occupation of Estonia, President Päts remained formally in office for over a month, until he was forced to resign, imprisoned by the new Stalinist regime, and deported to the USSR, where he died in 1956.