On 6 November, Estonian Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Sven Sakkov presented his credentials to His Majesty King Charles III.
Following the presentation, Ambassador Sakkov and His Majesty The King discussed security issues. “The United Kingdom is Estonia’s oldest ally,” said Ambassador Sakkov. “We fought together in the Estonian War of Independence and in Afghanistan, and we continue to stand united for freedom and security.”
Sven Sakkov, Ambassador of Estonia, accompanied by Marika Flaur, presents his credentials to King Charles III during a private audience at Buckingham Palace, London. Picture date: Thursday November 6, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire
Ambassador Sven Sakkov was born in 1971 in Tartu. He graduated cum laude in history from the University of Tartu in 1995 and earned a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge in 1997. In 2011–2012, he completed a year-long course at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. Sakkov has previously served as National Security and Defence Adviser to the President of the Republic (1995–1996) and as Head of the Policy Planning Department at the Ministry of Defence. From 1998 to 2001, he worked at Estonia’s representation to NATO, and from 2006 to 2008 at the Estonian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Between 2008 and 2015, he was Deputy Secretary General for Defence Policy at the Ministry of Defence, responsible for policy planning, threat assessments, NATO and EU policy, international cooperation, and arms control. From 2015 to 2017, Sakkov headed the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, and from 2017 to 2020, the International Centre for Defence and Security. From 2020 to 2025, he served as Estonia’s Ambassador to Finland. Ambassador Sakkov resides in London.