Paet continued his career in journalism until 1999, when he entered politics by joining the Reform Party and becoming professional advisor. He served as the Deputy Mayor of
Nõmme (a district of Tallinn) from 1999 to 2003.
Role in Estonian politics In April 2003, when the
Juhan Parts government took office, Paet became
Estonian Minister of Culture. In this capacity, he helped launch a new theatre,
Theatre NO99 Paet remained in that position until April 2005, when the Parts government fell. In April 2005, when the
Andrus Ansip cabinet took office, he became Foreign Minister. During his time in office, the
kidnapping of seven Estonian cyclists in the
Beqaa Valley near the Syria-Lebanese border required Paet to undertake multiple trips to the
Middle East in 2011; the cyclists’ release was secured after 113 days in captivity. By the time he left office, he was the second longest-serving foreign minister in Europe.
Member of the European Parliament, 2014–present Paet has been a
Member of the European Parliament since the
2014 European elections. A member of the
ALDE (Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) political faction, he first served on the
Committee on Budgets from 2014 until 2019. In this capacity, he authored a 2016 parliamentary resolution in favor of plans to increase European spending on military missions, as well as developing and sharing assets like helicopters. Following the
2019 elections, Paet moved to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs and its
Subcommittee on Security and Defence. In addition to his committee assignments, he is a member of the parliament's delegation for relations with the countries of
Southeast Asia and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); the European Parliament Intergroup on the Digital Agenda; the European Parliament Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals; and the
European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights. Also since 2019, he has been part of the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG), which oversees the Parliament's election observation missions. In 2015, Paet nominated murdered Russian politician
Boris Nemtsov for the
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. In the
2015 Estonian elections, Paet received enough votes to take up a seat in the national parliament yet decided to keep his seat in the European Parliament. Following the
2019 elections, Paet was part of a cross-party working group in charge of drafting the European Parliament's four-year work program on foreign policy. ==Recognition==