2023 in Estonia

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Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2023 Timeline of Estonian history

Events in the year 2023 in Estonia.

Incumbents

• President: Alar Karis
• Prime Minister: Kaja Kallas

Events

Ongoing — COVID-19 pandemic in Estonia

January

• 23 January — Estonia announces the expulsion of the Russian ambassador in Tallinn to reciprocate Russia's expulsion of the Estonian ambassador in Moscow due to a "downgrade" of relations. Both envoys will depart their respective assignments on February 7.^[1]

March

• 5 March — 2023 Estonian parliamentary election: The Reform Party, led by Kaja Kallas, wins the most seats in the Riigikogu.^[2]
• 27 March — Estonia joins 30 other countries in signing a joint letter addressed to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, urging South Korea to abolish the death penalty.^[3]

April

• 9 April — 2023 Estonian parliamentary election: Three parties, led by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, agree to a new government coalition, five weeks after the parliamentary elections in Estonia.^[4]

May

• 9 May — Estonia holds its largest Europe Day celebration in Tallinn with ~10,000 attendees and Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, while Victory Day events are smaller and peaceful despite Russian cross-border propaganda.^[5]
• 11-13 May — Estonia, represented by Alika with the song "Bridges," competes in Eurovision 2023; Alika places 8th in the final with 168 points.^[6]

• 14-26 May — Estonia hosts the UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship for the first time.^[7] France win their first title, beating Spain 3–2 in the final.^[8]

June

• 20 June — Same-sex marriage legalized. The parliament approved amendments to the country's Family Law Act legalizing same-sex marriage and allowing same-sex couples to adopt children. The amended act will go into effect on January 1, 2024. This made Estonia the first Baltic and former USSR country to do so.^[9]
• 21-27 June — Estonia sends 105 athletes to the European Games in Kraków, winning gold in archery and Muaythai, and silver in the 400 m hurdles.^[10]

September

• 11 September — Estonia and Latvia sign a €1 billion agreement with Germany to purchase IRIS-T medium-range air defense systems, Estonia’s largest defense investment and shifting its biggest defense partnership from the United States to Germany.^[11]

October

• 9 October - Estonian satellite ESTCube-2 was launched from Kourou, French Guiana, with the European Space Agency's Vega launch vehicle at 4:36 a.m. EEST.^[12] The satellite failed to deploy from its launch vehicle, and was destroyed on reentry.^[13]
• 10 October – Finland reports that the Balticconnector submarine pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia has been closed following damage and a gas leak.^[14]

Sport

Basketball

• 2022–23 European North Basketball League
• 2022–23 Latvian–Estonian Basketball League

Football

Main article: 2023 in Estonian football

Ice hockey

• 2022–23 EML season

Deaths

January

• 1 January - Kadri Mälk, 64, artist and jewellery designer^[15]
• 10 January - Kalle Eller, 82, publisher, cultural researcher and poet^[16]
• 7 February - Mati Põldre, 86, film director (Those Old Love Letters, Georg), screenwriter and cinematographer.^[17]

References

1. "Estonia to expel Russian ambassador in tit-for-tat move". anews. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
2. "Parliamentary elections 2023". valimised.ee. Vabariigi Valimiskomisjon. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
3. "Joint Letter: South Korea's Abolition of the Death Penalty | Human Rights Watch". 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
4. "Estonia PM's party clinches new coalition government deal". AP NEWS. 2023-04-08. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
5. "How 9 May unfolded in Estonia – Propastop". www.propastop.org. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
6. "Results of the Grand Final of Liverpool 2023 - Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
7. UEFA.com. "The official website for European football". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
8. UEFA.com. "Spain-France | Women's Under-17 2023 Final". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
9. "Estonia becomes first ex-soviet state to legalize same-sex marriage". CNN.
10. "EOK lähetab Euroopa Mängudele rekordkoondise". Eesti Olümpiakomitee (in Estonian). Retrieved 2025-08-10.
11. "Latvia and Estonia sign deal to buy German-made missile defense system". AP News. 2023-09-11. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
12. ERR, ERR | (2023-10-09). "Estonia's ESTCube-2 satellite launched into orbit on Monday". ERR. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
13. Parsonson, Andrew (2023-10-16). "Two Vega VV23 Payloads Failed to Deploy". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
14. Nanu, Maighna (2023-10-10). "Finland-Estonia gas pipeline may have been 'deliberately damaged' by Russia". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
15. "Suri kunstnik Kadri Mälk". Eesti Rahvusringhääling (in Estonian). 1 January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
16. "Suri Kaitseliidu endine ülem Kalle Istvan Eller". Eesti (in Estonian). 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
17. ERR (2023-02-08). "Suri filmirežissöör Mati Põldre". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2023-02-08.