Marina Kaljurand is the Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia. She began her career at the Ministry in 1991 and has since held several leadership positions. She has also been appointed as Ambassador of Estonia to several different countries, including the Russian Federation and the United States of America. She has played an important role as an expert and negotiator in the process of Russian troop withdrawal and in negotiations on land and maritime boundary agreements between Estonia and the Russian Federation, as well as in the accession negotiations of Estonia to the European Union and to the OECD. As of 1 August 2014, she is the Estonian National Expert at the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security.
Marina Kaljurand graduated cum laude from Tartu University (M.A. in Law). She also has a professional diploma from Estonian School of Diplomacy and an M.A. degree in International Law and Diplomacy from Tufts University. Additionally, she has undergone professional training at the Universities of Lapland, Pittsburgh and Durham and at the Civil Service College in London. She is a founding member of the Estonian branch of the International Law Association and of WIIS-EST (Estonian branch of Women in International Security). She has been awarded the Order of White Star, III class, and the Order of the National Coat of Arms, III class, by the President of Estonia. She is fluent in Estonian, English and Russian.