Estonia has voted for its first female president, ending a month-long political stalemate. The choice of Kersti Kaljulaid, a member of the European Court of Auditors, was a surprise as she is not a household name.

Kersti Kaljulaid, 46, was confirmed in a 81-0 vote in Estonia's 101-seat parliament on Monday after emerging last week as a surprise candidate following unsuccessful bids by four other contenders.

Twenty parliamentarians abstained or were absent Monday.

She will be the country's fifth president since 1991, when the three Baltic nations - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - became independent during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

On Monday, she promised to be president for all Estonians and regularly discuss issues with the ethnic Russian minority in the nation of 1.3 million people.

She will succeed Toomas Hendrik Ilves, an outspoken critic of Russia who steps down next week after two five-year terms as president. In recent months, NATO has boosted its presence in the Baltic nations.

(DW)