History of diplomatic relations
Spain recognised the Republic of Estonia on 8 March 1921. Estonia’s first envoy to Spain was Karl Robert Pusta, who was appointed in 1928 and resided in Paris. After the occupation of Estonia, Estonia’s diplomatic representation in Spain continued in exile. In 1953, Spain again recognised Karl Robert Pusta as the diplomatic representative of the Republic of Estonia.
Spain restored its recognition of the Republic of Estonia on 27 August 1991, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were re-established on 10 September 1991. Estonia opened its embassy in Madrid on 30 June 1997. Andres Tomasberg was Estonia’s first ambassador to Spain after the restoration of independence and, from 2000, the first Estonian ambassador to reside in Madrid.
Spain opened its embassy in Tallinn in March 2004. Before that, Spanish ambassadors to Estonia resided in Helsinki.
Estonian envoys and ambassadors to Spain
1928–1932 Karl Robert Pusta – Estonia’s first envoy to Spain, resident in Paris
1933–1939 Otto Strandman – resident in Paris
February–October 1939 Artur Normak – initially appointed diplomatic agent and, on 11 March, permanent representative; he did not hold the title of ambassador
1953–1964 Karl Robert Pusta – Spain again recognised him as the diplomatic representative of the Republic of Estonia; served in Madrid
1964–1979 Villibald Raud
1995–2004 Andres Tomasberg – the first ambassador to Spain after the restoration of independence; initially resident in Paris and, from 2000, in Madrid
2004–2009 Andres Rundu
2009–2014 Toomas Kahur
2014–2019 Rasmus Lumi
2019–2022 Mariin Ratnik
2022–2026 Andres Rundu
since 2026 Lembit Uibo
Spanish envoys and ambassadors to Estonia
1921–1928 Joaquín de Ezpeleta y Montenegro – Spain’s first envoy to Estonia, resident in Helsinki
1928–1931 Manuel Alonso Ávila y Bernabeu
1931–1940 Manuel García de Acilu y Benito – his term of representation ended following the occupation of Estonia
1991–1993 Eduardo Aranda Carranza – resident in Helsinki
1994–1995 Eloy Ybáñez Bueno
1995–1996 Juan Manuel Egea Ibáñez
1997–2000 Vicente Blanco Gaspar
2000–2004 Fernando Carderera Soler – the last Spanish ambassador to Estonia to reside in Helsinki
2004–2008 Miguel Bauzá y More
2008–2011 Eduardo Ibáñez López-Dóriga
2011–2014 Álvaro de la Riva Guzmán de Frutos
2014–2016 Fernando García Casas
2017–2021 Teresa Orjales Vidal
2021–2025 Guillermo Javier Corral van Damme
since 2025 Ángel María Vázquez Díaz de Tuesta
Estonia has seven honorary consuls in Spain: Josep Lluis Rovira and David Rovira in Catalonia (Barcelona), Fernando Franco Fernández in Andalusia (Seville), Sergio Tadeo Benitez in the Canary Islands, José Vicente Morata Estragués in Valencia, Guillermo Carlos Dezcallar Enseñat in the Balearic Islands (Palma de Mallorca), and Isidoro Alejandro Beltrán de Heredia Dreyfus in the Basque Country.
Bilateral relations
To Spain
- March 2022 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Eva-Maria Liimets
- March 2021 – President Kersti Kaljulaid
- June 2018 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Mikser
- June 2017 – Prime Minister Jüri Ratas
- January 2017 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Mikser at the Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean in Barcelona; meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain Alfonso Dastis
- November 2015 – Minister of Defence Hannes Hanso
- September 2014 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet
- December 2009 – Prime Minister Andrus Ansip
- February 2009 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet
- July 2007 – state visit by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves
- February 2004 – Prime Minister Juhan Parts at the summit of leaders of right-wing and Christian democratic parties; meeting with Prime Minister José María Aznar
- February 2000 – Prime Minister Mart Laar at the “Europa 2010” forum of right-wing parties in Madrid; meeting with Prime Minister José María Aznar
- November 1998 – President Lennart Meri opened the Estonian Embassy in Madrid and met with Prime Minister José María Aznar
To Estonia
- July 2021 – Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez
- April 2021 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Arancha González Laya
- April 2017 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfonso Dastis
- February 2015 – Minister of Defence Pedro Morenés Eulate
- October 2013 – Minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel García-Margallo
- May 2009 – state visit to Estonia by King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía of Spain; the delegation included Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Ángel Moratinos
- September 2006 – Minister of Defence José Antonio Alonso Suárez
- May 2006 – President of the Senate of Spain Javier Rojo
- May 2006 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Ángel Moratinos
- September 2001 – Prime Minister José María Aznar
- April 2001 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Josep Piqué
International agreements between Estonia and Spain are available in the Riigi Teataja.
More detailed information on trade with Spain is available in the Statistics Estonia application.
Spain has participated in NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission since 2006. Spain has led the mission from Ämari Air Base on three occasions: from January to April 2015, from May to August 2017, and from August to September 2022. The next rotation was scheduled for autumn 2023. Since April 2023, Spain has temporarily filled a critical capability gap in Estonia’s medium-range air defence with the NASAMS medium-range surface-to-air missile system.
Spain is one of the founding members of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, and two Spanish experts work at the centre. The Baltic-Spanish seminar on security and defence policy was first held in Riga in 2009, followed by seminars in Madrid in February 2013 and in Riga in May 2015.
Both Estonia and Spain have joined the European Intervention Initiative, EI2, and belong to the French-led Sahel Task Force.
Spain has appointed a defence attaché to Estonia, Colonel Manuel Gonzales Calvete, who resides in Madrid. Estonia has cross-accredited its defence attaché residing in France to Spain; the current defence attaché is Lieutenant Colonel Alo Valdna.
Cultural relations between Estonia and Spain are close and dynamic. Interest in Spanish language and culture has steadily grown in Estonia. Since 1992, it has been possible to study Spanish as a full degree programme at the University of Tartu, and in 2002 Spanish language teaching also began at Tallinn University.
The teaching of Spanish at both universities has been made possible thanks to the strong support of the Embassy of Spain. The University of Tartu has concluded an agreement with the University of Granada for the exchange of lecturers and senior students, and student exchanges also take place with the universities of Oviedo and Las Palmas. Since 2003, it has been possible to take the DELE exam, Spanish as a foreign language, at Tallinn University.
The Spanish language and culture centre Hispaania Maja and the NGO Centro Picasso are active in Tallinn. Led by the Embassy of Spain, the Ibero-American cultural festival Iberofest is organised in Estonia every spring.
Juri Lotman and his school of semiotics are well known in academic circles. Many of Juri Lotman’s articles and books on Russian cultural history and semiotics have also been published in Spanish.
Jüri Talvet and Ain Kaalep have been awarded the Order of Isabella the Catholic.