President Toomas Hendrik Ilves was born on December 26, 1953, in Stockholm, Sweden. He acquired his education in the United States – he graduated from Columbia University in New York City and the University of Pennsylvania. 1984 he moved to Europe, to work at the office of Radio Free Europe in Munich, Germany, first as a researcher and foreign policy analyst and later as the Head of the Estonian Desk. He served as Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico from 1993 until 1996. He has been Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia, Chairman of the North Atlantic Institute (1998), Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Estonia and Member of the European Parliament. Ilves was elected President of the Republic of Estonia in 2006 and was re-elected for a second term in office in 2011.