Alar Karis. Alar Karis (Estonian pronunciation: [????l??r ??k??ris]; born 26 March 1958) is an Estonian molecular geneticist, developmental biologist, civil servant and politician who, since 11 October 2021, has served as the sixth president of Estonia. Prior to presidency Karis was born in Tartu on 26 March 1958. His father was the botanist Harry Karis (1930???2018) and his mother Virve Karis (1929???2020), an agriculture specialist in animal nutrition. He grew up with his mother and grandmother Vilhelmine after his parents divorced in 1960. He graduated from the Estonian Agricultural Academy in 1981. In 1999, he became a professor at the University of Tartu. Karis served as rector of the Estonian University of Life Sciences from 2003 to 2007, as rector of the University of Tartu from 2007 to 2012, as the Auditor General of Estonia from 2013 to...
