Indrek Tarand

Biography

Indrek Tarand (born February 3, 1964) is an Estonian politician and a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Estonia. He was an independent politician, but a member of the European Green Party. Tarand is the eldest son of politician Andres Tarand. His mother Mari Tarand, was a well-known linguist and radio journalist and the elder sister of Juhan Viiding. His younger brother is journalist Kaarel Tarand. His paternal grandfather was Estonian cultural figure, philologist and poet Helmut Tarand. His maternal grandparents were poet, author and literary critic Paul Viiding and translator Linda Viiding. His first cousins include historian Juhan Kreem, musician Jaagup Kreem, and poet Elo Viiding. He studied history at the University of Tartu, as well as the University of Bologna, Italy. As a student during the Soviet occupation, he was expelled in his first year for lighting candles with his fellow Estonian patriots on the grave of Julius Kuperjanov, an Estonian military commander. Tarand was forced to the Soviet military service and after that he finished the university in 1991. In 2005, Tarand caused a scandal at a soccer game by wearing a shirt that bore the names of some former Communist Party members, including Estonian president Arnold Rüütel and Prime Minister Andrus Ansip with the words Kommarid ahju! ("Commies to the oven!") This was one of the reasons that caused defense minister Jaak Jõerüüt to resign. In 2006, Tarand participated as a celebrity contestant on the first season of Tantsud tähtedega, an Estonian version of Dancing with the Stars. His professional dancing partner was Kaisa Oja. He is also a freelance journalist hosting programmes in radio and television, including the Estonian version of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. He also held the post of the Director of the Estonian War Museum – General Laidoner Museum. However, shortly after taking the MEP seat, Tarand relinquished his directorship. As a reserve officer, Tarand holds the rank of second lieutenant (nooremleitnant).