The Estonian Ministry of Finance has submitted Kaur Kajak's candidacy for the position of director of the Statistics Office to the Government of the Republic. This appointment comes after a competitive process organized by the state chancellery's public service leadership selection committee, which attracted numerous applicants. The selection committee put forward Kajak's candidacy for consideration by the statistics council, which supported him in a meeting held on Tuesday. The government will officially appoint the new director for a five-year term, succeeding the current director Urmet Lee, who will continue in his role until the end of his term on August 1st.

The Statistics Office has faced challenges in publishing data effectively. Most notably, in August of last year, it released inaccurate quarterly wage statistics, and just this February, it postponed the publication of the consumer price index data for January multiple times. This situation highlighted the need for competent leadership within the agency to restore confidence in its data dissemination processes. The new director will need to address these past issues and improve the credibility and reliability of the Statistics Office moving forward.

Kaur Kajak's experience as the Deputy Secretary General at the Ministry of Finance positions him well to take on the directorship of the Statistics Office, where he will oversee the crucial role of producing accurate and timely state statistics. The appointment is seen as a critical step in ensuring that the agency overcomes its previous difficulties and enhances its operational efficiency, potentially impacting economic planning and policy-making in Estonia.