Ansip, Andrus, 1956–, Estonian political leader. Ansip was an engineer (1979–83) before becoming an official of the Tartu district committee of the Estonian Communist party (1986–88). Ansip was later mayor of Tartu (1998–2004), then chairman of the Estonian Reform party and minister of economic affairs and communications (2004–5). Following the resignation of Prime Minister Juhan Parts in 2005, Ansip became prime minister, leading a center-right coalition. Ansip introduced austerity measures in 2008–9 that helped Estonia recover from the global economic recession, and brought Estonia into the eurozone in 2011. He retired as prime minister in Mar., 2014, and later that year was named a vice president of the European Union's European Commission. Taavi Rõivas succeeded Ansip as prime minister.
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