Igor Schvede

Schvede was born in 1970 in, his military career began at the Leningrad Nakhimov Naval School.^[1][2] He later joined the Soviet Navy, receiving education at the Frunze Naval Academy (now the St. Petersburg Naval Institute), where he graduated with a bachelors in Electromechanical Engineering.^[1] Schvede was commissioned in 1993 in the navy, the beginning of which he participated in the withdrawal of the Soviet Armed Forces from Estonia.^[3] He has commanded Estonian two patrol craft. In 2005, he was deployed to Afghanistan.^[1] In 2012, he graduated from US Naval Command College.^[1] From 2007 to 2012, he commanded Estonian Navy.^[1] From 2013 to 2016, Schvede was Chief of Staff at the Headquarters of the Estonian Defence Forces^[4] In August 2016, he was appointed as Estonia's representative to NATO and the European Union.^[5] Since 2021, he has been an advisor at the Ministry of Defence.

Schvede was given the rank of Rear Admiral in February 2020. He is a recipient of the Order of the Cross of the Eagle of the Defence League.^[1]

He is fluent in Estonian, English and Russian.^[1]