Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The secretary general directs the work of the structural units of the ministry and organises the administration of the ministry.

Jonatan Vseviov took office as Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in February 2021. Before his current job, Vseviov was the Estonian ambassador to the United States since August 2018.  

From 2008 to 2018, Vseviov worked at the Estonian Ministry of Defence, where he rose to the position of secretary general.

Prior to his appointment as Secretary General in January 2016, Vseviov served as the Undersecretary for Defence Planning, Acting Undersecretary for Defence Policy, and Director of the Policy Planning Department.

While working at the Ministry of Defence, Vseviov played a leading role in shaping Estonia's defence policy domestically and internationally. He is the author of the Concept for Comprehensive Approach to Defence (2009) and the National Defence Strategy of 2010 – documents that led to significant conceptual change in organising defence in Estonia.

In 2012, he was one of the main drafters of the national defence development plan (2013–2022). He has been involved in the development of the current deterrence and defence posture of NATO, including the execution of the Enhanced Forward Presence of NATO in the Baltic States and Poland.

Jonatan Vseviov has completed conscript service and is a reserve officer. He is a graduate of the Department of Political Science at the University of Tartu and has earned a master’s degree with honours in security studies from Georgetown University.

He has been awarded the Third Class Order of Merit of the White Star, the First and Third Class Cross of Merit of the Ministry of Defence, the First Class decoration of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service, and the Cross of Merit of the Estonian Defence Forces (twice).

The undersecretary for political affairs directs the work of the entire political area of the ministry and advises the directorate and the ministry’s units on international security, Estonia’s security policy and international relations, and the European Union.

From 2 September 2024, Martin Roger serves as Undersecretary for Political Affairs. In 2001, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tartu and went on to obtain a master’s degree in international law from the University of Amsterdam. Martin Roger began his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2001 when he joined the International Agreements Division. He has also worked at Estonia’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York; as an adviser in the cabinet of the President of the UN General Assembly; as Deputy Head of the Estonian Embassy in Paris; as a head of department at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications; and as the Director of the Division for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Between 2018 and 2022, Roger served as the Estonian Ambassador to Poland and he was subsequently the Director General of the Department for NATO and Transatlantic Relations.

The undersecretary for economic and development affairs directs the work of the Department for External Economic Policy and International Economic Organisations, Economic Diplomacy Department, and the Department for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid.

From 1 September 2022, Mariin Ratnik serves as the Undersecretary for Economic and Development Affairs. Mariin Ratnik has worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2000 and has been ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Andorra, Algeria and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna. Between 2017 and 2019, Mariin Ratnik was the prime minister's foreign relations adviser at the Government Office. 

Mariin Ratnik graduated from the University of Tartu with a degree in economics and she has studied international relations at the Estonian School of Diplomacy and the Humboldt University in Berlin.

The undersecretary for global affairs directs the work of the Department for Digital and Cyber Diplomacy, the Department for International Organisations and Human Rights, the Department for Connectivity and Climate Diplomacy, and the Department for the Diaspora and Cultural Diplomacy.

The undersecretary also advises the directorate and structural units on digital and cyber diplomacy, international organisations, human rights, climate and energy policy, the diaspora and regional policy, and coordinates the ministry’s communication with other government agencies on these issues.

Minna-Liina Lind has worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2004. Lind has worked on UN issues both in the Policy Planning Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Permanent Mission of Estonia to the United Nations. As Deputy Permanent Representative of Estonia to the UN, she was responsible for the UN Security Council campaign from 2014–2018. From 2010 to 2014, Lind was a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

She graduated from the University of Tartu School of Law and holds a master’s degree in International and European Union Law from Heidelberg University. She is also a graduate of the Estonian School of Diplomacy.

The undersecretary for legal and consular affairs directs the work of the Legal Department, Consular Department, Department of Sanctions and Strategic Export Control and Information Monitoring Department. She advises the directorate and the ministry’s units on legal and consular issues, on sanctions and strategic export control issues.

From 8 August 2024, Kerli Veski serves as Undersecretary for Legal and Consular Affairs. Veski began her career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2000 as an attaché at the Legal Department and as early as 2002, she became a head of division at the department. From 2004 to 2007, Veski worked as the Director of the Consular Office at the Estonian Embassy in Moscow.

She then worked at the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, serving as the Director of the Legal Division from 2007 to 2009. She then became a development adviser at the Human Resources Department. Between 2013 and 2015, Veski worked at the Estonian Embassy in Helsinki, where she was the Director of the Consular Office. Before her current role, she served as the Director General of the Legal Department since 2015.

Kerli Veski obtained a bachelor’s degree in law from the Institute of Law in 2000 and in 2013, she graduated cum laude from the Tallinn University of Technology with a master’s degree in law. She has also completed a course on international relations at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna.

The undersecretary for administrative affairs directs the work of the Finance Department, the Administration Department and the Information Technology Department, and advises the ministry’s management and structural units on administrative matters. He or she also plans the ministry’s administrative and financial policy and the main directions of information technology. In addition, he or she represents the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the relevant national councils (the council of the State Shared Service Centre, the State Real Estate Council, etc.).

Since 17 November 2025, Rasmus Lumi has been serving as the Deputy Secretary General for Administrative Affairs.

Rasmus Lumi has been with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1995, when he started working in the International Treaties Bureau of the Legal Department. In the summer of 1999, he was appointed Director of the same bureau, a position he held until the end of 1999. From 2000 to 2002, Lumi worked as a diplomat at the Permanent Representation of Estonia in Geneva, and from 2002 to 2005 as Assistant to the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, followed by serving as Director General of the Personnel Department in 2005–2006. From 2006 to 2009, Lumi was Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of Estonia in Ottawa, and from 2009 to 2010 Consul General at the Consulate General in St Petersburg. From 2010 to 2013, he headed the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Director General, and in 2013–2014 the Personnel Department. From 2014 to 2019, Lumi served as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain and the Principality of Andorra. From 2019 to 2024, he headed Estonia’s Permanent Representation to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and since August 2024 he has continued his service at the ministry’s headquarters as Director General of the Department for International Organisations and Human Rights.

Rasmus Lumi graduated in law from the University of Tartu in 1998.