Ants Laaneots

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Kindral (General) Ants Laaneots, (born 16 January 1948) in Kilingi-Nõmme in Pärnumaa, is the former Commander-in-Chief of the Estonian Defence Forces and a veteran officer in the Soviet Army. General Laaneots previously served as the Commandant of the Estonian National Defence College from 2001 to 2006. He was appointed the Commander-in-Chief on 5 December 2006 and was promoted to General in 2011.

Military career

Ants Laaneots was born on 16 January 1948 in Kilingi-Nõmme, Estonia. In 1948 the NKVD arrested his father for being a forest brother. For that he was deported to Siberia between 1949–1958.[1] His mother died there in 1952. In July 1966 he entered the Higher Military School in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and graduated in 1970 as an Army Tank Officer. He specialized in the T-64 Tank.

From 1970 to 1978, he served as a platoon leader, company commander, and battalion commander of the 300th Tank Regiment for the Soviet Army in Ukraine, mostly commanding fleets of T-64 Tanks. From 1978 to 1981, Laaneots studied in the Malinovsky Military Academy of Armored Forces (Военная академия бронетанковых войск им. Р. Я. Малиновского) in Moscow for an armoured brigade commander's course, and to qualify on the newly introduced T-80 Tank.. From 1981 to 1987, he was posted to the Soviet-Chinese border in Eastern Kazakhstan. During this assignment he served as the Executive Officer of the 96th Tank Regiment, two years as the Commander of the 180th Tank Regiment, and three years as the Deputy Commander-Chief of Staff of the 78th Armoured Division.

From 1987 to 1989, he deployed to Ethiopia where he spent one year as the military advisor to the commander of an infantry division, and a year and a half as the military advisor to the commanding general of an army corps participating in combat activities. Before his resignation from the Soviet Army in September 1991, he served as the Chief of Regional Department of Defence, Tartu in Estonia.[2]

File:Jan144.jpg
Kindralleitnant (Lieutenant General) Ants Laaneots
Commander-in-Chief of the Estonian Defence Forces (r) with Stanley Davis Phillips, US Ambassador to Estonia

After 1991

Laaneots was one of the founding-officers of the Estonian Army, defecting from the Soviet Army after the August 1991 attempted coup in Moscow. After Estonia regained its independence in 1991, Ants Laaneots served two times as the Chief of the General Staff – from 1991 to 1994, and from 1997 to 1999. He was crucial in transforming the doctrine and tactics of the Estonian Defence Forces from a Soviet mode to a NATO/Western mode. From 1994 to 1996 he was in reserve(Director of the Security company AS ESS Lõuna). In 1997 Laaneots was appointed to the position of Inspector General of the Defence Forces. During his second tenure, in 1998, he graduated from the NATO Defence College in Rome, Italy.

In 1998, he was promoted to Kindralmajor (Major General). In 2000, after a year at the course in the Finnish National Defence College, he was appointed the head of the Baltic Defence Research Centre located in Estonia. From September 2001 through to December 2006, he was Commandant of the Estonian National Defence College. Ants Laaneots was appointed the Commander-in-Chief on 5 December 2006. He stepped down as Commander-in-Chief on 5 December 2011 after his 5-year term ended.

Political career

As of December 12, 2011, he worked as prime minister Andrus Ansip's advisor in matters of national defence.[3] That job ended on the 28 of March 2014 at the end of Andrus Ansip's term in office.[4] Laaneots joined the Reform Party in late 2014.[5] In the 2015 parliamentary election, Laaneots was elected to the parliament with 5,907 individual votes.[6]

Effective dates of promotion

Soviet Army

(See Military ranks of the Soviet Union)

File:Laaneots kohtumas presidendiga.jpg
President Toomas Hendrik Ilves giving Ants Laaneots an artwork from Jüri Arrak in December 2011.

Estonian Army

(See Military of Estonia#Insignia)

Awards, decorations, and recognition

Awards and decorations

Estonian Awards and decorations
EST Order of the Cross of the Eagle 1st Class BAR.png 1st Class of the Order of the Cross of the Eagle 23 February 2012
EST Order of the Cross of the Eagle 2nd Class BAR.png 2nd Class of the Order of the Cross of the Eagle 23 February 2000
106px White Cross of the Estonian Defence League (I class) 11 November 2011
106px White Cross of the Estonian Defence League (III class)
106px Cross of Merit of the Ministry of Defence (I class) 23 February 2011
106px Distinguished Service Decoration of the EDF 23 February 1998
106px Order of Merit of the Estonian Defence Forces 18 February 2005
106px Gold Cross of the Officer of Land Forces
106px Navy decoration " Belief and the Will " Class II " Silver Anchor "
106px Estonian Defence Forces General Staff Cross of Merit 12 November 2003
106px Merit Medal of the Defence League Special Class
106px Memorial Medal "10 Years of the Re-Established Defence Forces"
106px Armed Resistance Cross of Merit
106px Border Guard Cross of Merit I Class
106px Golden Cross of the Rescue Board
106px Memorial Medal 10 Years of the Re-Established Border Guard (I Class)
106px The Baltic Defence College Medal of Merit (gold)
106px NCO School Medal of Merit
106px Cross of the Estonian Reserve Officers’ Assembly (gold) 12 June 2001[8]
106px Admiral Johan Pitka Brothers-in-Arms Club Medal of Merit
106px Memorial Cross "Spearhead Admiral Pitka"
106px St. George's Night Great Star 2007[9]
Foreign Awards
106px Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland (Finland)
US Legion of Merit Commander ribbon.png Commander Degree of the Legion of Merit 4 July 2012 (USA)
Order of the Polar Star - Ribbon bar.svg Royal Order of the North Star of Sweden, 2nd class 18 January 2011 (Sweden)
SVK Commemorative Medal Min-of-Def 1st BAR.svg Commemorative Medal of the Minister of Defense of the Slovak Republic First Class 15 November 2011 (Slovakia)
Order redstar rib.png Order of the Red Star (Soviet Union)

Personal

His main research interests include modern conflicts, conflicts involving small states/nations, development of national defence. Since 1999, he has 48 publications, among others 1 monograph, 3 academic papers published in international journals and 15 other academic papers.

In addition to the Estonian language, General Laaneots is fluent in English, Russian, Belarusian, and Finnish. He is an active member of the Estonian National Defence League and the Rotary Club. He is married to Natalia and has a grandson and a daughter.

References

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External links

Military offices
Preceded by Chief of the General Staff
1991-1994,1997-1999		 Succeeded by
Aarne Ermus
Preceded by Commandant of the Estonian National Defence College
2001-2006		 Succeeded by
Viljar Schiff
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief
2006–2011		 Succeeded by
Riho Terras
  1. ↑ http://arhiiv2.postimees.ee:8080/leht/99/03/25/uudised.shtm#esimene
  2. ↑ Official Biography, http://www.nato.int/
  3. ↑ Former Commander-in-Chief Ants Laaneots starts work as the Prime Ministers advisor (news in Estonian).
  4. ↑ Laaneots left the position of Prime Ministers advisor (news in Estonian).
  5. ↑ Generals Laaneots and Kert joined the Reform Party (news in Estonian).
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Vabariigi President omistas kaitseväe juhatajale kindralleitnandi auastme
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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