Olari Lippmaa

Olari Lippmaa
Lippmaa in 2019
Member of the Folkssenaat
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 September 2006
Constituency	Lanekirik
Secretary of Euclean Affairs
In office 14 December 2006 – 9 November 2010
Premier	Jabik Nieuwenhuis
Preceded by	Martin Morgentaler
Succeeded by	Eadvyn Padovano
Personal details
Born	(1975-10-14) 14 October 1975 Rahu, Alsland
Nationality	Alslandic
Political party	Alslandic Section of the Workers' International
Alma mater	Herne Polytechnyk
Website	Folkssenaat page

Olari Lippmaa (born 14 October 1975) is an Alslandic politician and diplomat who has been a Member of the Folkssenaat since 2006. Prior to this, between 1996 and 2004 he worked for the Community of Nations in Kesselbourg City before returning to Alsland to enter politics. From 2006 to 2010 he was the Secretary of Euclean Affairs under Jabik Nieuwenhuis. He is the candidate for Premier from the Alslandic Section of the Workers' International (ASAY) ahead of the 2022 Alslandic legislative election.

Early life

Diplomatic career

Lippmaa in 1999 whilst working for the Alslandic delegation to the Community of Nations

Political career

Member of the Folkssenaat

In the 2018 Alslandic legislative election Lippmaa led the ASAY list in the Martish Community and won a seat in the Folkssenaat. He was one of two Martish ASAY senators elected in 2018. Lippmaa is a member of the Folkssenaat's committee on Foreign Affairs and became the committee's vice-chair in 2021 having previously chaired the committee from 2010 until 2016.

Ahead of the 2018 legislative election, Lippmaa as well as Rayk Herder openly criticised ASAY candidate Ydo van Veen for refusing to attend television debates as well as his use of a private helicopter to attend campaign events which damaged the party's image. Van Veen responded by threatening to expel his opponents in the party, Van Veen's reaction led to him being removed as candidate by the Presidium of the Party who appointed Jabik Nieuwenhuis for candidate. The party lost 35 seats and received it's lowest share of the vote since the Great War which Lippmaa attributed to Van Veen's comments as well as the strong performance of the centrist Progressive Alliance.

After the 2021 Yndyk train bombing, Lippmaa like much of his party voted against the "2021 Anti-terrorism and Security act". During a debate before the vote, Lippmaa called the act "undemocratic" and compared Ottila Möller to Rafael Duclerque. After the debate Lippmaa apologised for the comparison on social media after facing backlash from veterans groups as well as historians and other Senators. During the vote on the act, ASAY senators turned their backs and walked out of the chamber after the vote was held. Shortly afterwards ASAY tabled a bill to reduce the powers of the act although the bill was blocked from receiving a vote in the Folkssenaat by the National Bloc.

On 29 June 2022, Lippmaa was formally selected as ASAY's candidate for Premier in the upcoming 2022 Alslandic legislative election. During his acceptance speech he vowed to campaign on social and economic issues such as the cost of living increase as well as adding a non-binary or 'other' option to Alslandic ID cards and passports. As of Lippmaa accepting the candidacy, ASAY held a strong second position in opinion polls. In various opinion polls conducted at the start of the campaign, Lippmaa was the most popular candidate for Premier and the only candidate with a positive approval rating.

Personal life

Lippmaa is fluent in Martish and Gaullican. Lippmaa also can hold basic conversations in Dellish as well as Hoeltish. He is married and has 3 children. Lippmaa is agnostic.