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Riho Ühtegi

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Riho Ühtegi
Riho Ühtegi (2022)
Born (1964-02-15) 15 February 1964 (age 60)
Tartu, Estonia
AllegianceEstonia
Service / branchEstonian Defence Forces
Years of service1990 – present
RankMajor general
Commands
Battles / warsWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Awards

Riho Ühtegi (born 15 February 1964) is an Estonian major general. He has been the Commander of the Estonian Special Operations Force. Since 2019, he is the commander of the Estonian Defence League.[1]

Military career

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Ühtegi is a member of the Estonian Defence League since 1990.[2] and is one of the establishers of Elva malevkond, which was the first unit in Tartu malev.[3] During 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt he participated in the defence of Toompea with men from Tartu malev.[4] In 1993, during Pullapää crisis, he was tasked with creating a new unit based on the Lääne Country Volunteer Jaeger Company.[5] He replaced Toivo Treima as chief of J2 department of the Estonian Defence Forces on 6 April 1995, after a border incident involving an officer from the department.[6] On 26 February 2007, he was released from the position of Commander of the Military Intelligence Battalion due to a scandal over illegal tracking.[7] He was given the rank of lieutenant colonel on 14 October 2010[8] and the rank of colonel on 22 February 2016.[9] In 2016, he was involved in a helicopter accident, but escaped largely unharmed.[10] Ühtegi was approved for the position of Commander of the Defence League by the Estonian Government on June 13, 2019, eventually taking up the position on July 19.[11] On August 20, he received the rank of brigadier general.[12]

[1]

Education

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  • 1982 graduated from Elva Gymnasium
  • 1994 graduated from Officers’ Training Course in National Defense Academy
  • 1996 graduated from the Netherlands’ Staff College, International Staff Officers’ Course
  • 1998 graduated from G. Marshall Center in Germany, International Defense and Security Studies’ Course
  • 2003 graduated from Baltic Defence College, Colonels’ course
  • 2007 graduated from University of Tartu (Law MA)

[1]

Personal life

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Riho Ühtegi is married and has two children. After serving in the Soviet Army, he worked as a telescope mechanic at Tartu Observatory and later as a policeman, during which he joined the Estonian Defence League.[13] His hobbies are sports, which he practices to keep in shape, and teaching subjects about national defence. Many secondary school national defence teachers have attended his lectures.[2] He has participated in the translation of Silent Warfare: Understanding the World of Intelligence by Abram Shulsky and Gary Schmitt.[14]

Decorations

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[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Riho Ühtegi". www.kaitseliit.ee. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  2. ^ a b "Interview with graduate Riho Ühtegi". www.elvag.edu.ee. Retrieved 2017-11-18.
  3. ^ Elva Postipoiss, nr. 13, 3 April 2010
  4. ^ Nädaline, nr. 19, 16 February 2010
  5. ^ Eesti Päevaleht, 4 August 1993
  6. ^ Free Estonian Word : Estonian weekly, 27 April 1995
  7. ^ Virumaa Teataja, nr. 60, 27 March 2008
  8. ^ RT III 2010, 46, 211
  9. ^ "Kaitseväe juhataja andis vanemohvitseridele auastmed". www.mil.ee. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  10. ^ Kund, Oliver (6 September 2019). "Eriüksuse juht: baas tuleb niikuinii". postimees.ee (in Estonian).
  11. ^ "Valitsus nimetas Kaitseliidu ülemaks kolonel Riho Ühtegi". 2019-06-13.
  12. ^ Punamäe, Sander (20 August 2019). "Kaitseliidu ülem Riho Ühtegi sai brigaadikindrali auastme". postimees.ee (in Estonian).
  13. ^ Salu, Mikk (2018-07-18). "Kaitseväe kõige salajasema osa ülem Riho Ühtegi - karm mees, kes valmis vägivalda kasutama". ekspress.delfi.ee (in Estonian). Eesti Ekspress. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  14. ^ "Rahva Raamat | Riho Ühtegi". www.rahvaraamat.ee. Retrieved 2017-11-18.
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