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Between 1991 and 1992 Arnold Ruutel was a member
of the Constitutional Assembly drafting the new Constitution of
the Republic of Estonia;
in 1992 he was a candidate for the
presidency of the
Republic of Estonia and received 43% of the people's votes.
In
1995, receiving a record number of votes, he was
elected to the Riigikogu (the Parliament
of Estonia)
and, thereafter,
Vice-Chairman of the Riigikogu.
From 1994 to 2000 he was chairman of the centre-right
Estonian Rural People's Party,
one of the largest
among Estonian political parties.
Since 1999 the
Party's name has been Estonian People's
Union.
In 1995 Arnold Ruutel was elected head of the
delegation of Riigikogu to the Baltic Assembly and then,
alternately up to 1999,
Chairman of the Presidium of the Baltic
Assembly.
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His Excellency Dr Arnold Rüütel (right)
President of the Republic of Estonia.
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Apart from his work, he is also known
for his active participation in public
life.
From 1981 to 1988, he was Chairman of the Estonian Society for
Nature
Conservation advocating
preservation of nature and, 1989-2002, Chairman of the
Forselius Society promoting educational life.
In 1993 he became the founder of the non-governmental
Institute for National Development
and Cooperation, the aim of
which is to examine the main development factors
in Estonia.
In 1993 he became President of the Estonian National Organisation of the
Green Cross International.
The
main concern of this organization has been the
purification of the pollution caused by the
Soviet army and its consequences on the territory of Estonia,
and to keep Estonia tidy and
nature-friendly for the coming generations.
In the same year he became Chairman of the movement
"Protect the Estonian Sea".
This organization takes care of
the Estonian coastline of 3,5 thousand kilometres
and is committed
to the restoration and
establishment of small harbours.
Ingrid Ruutel, Arnold Ruutel's wife, is a Doctor
of Humanities, an internationally known
specialist in folklore,
President of the folklore
association Baltica. They have two
daughters and six grandchildren.
Elected by an electoral college on 21 September
2001, Arnold Ruutel was inaugurated as
the President of the Republic of Estonia on 8 October 2001.
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