Commander of EDL
Major General
Ilmar Tamm
Commander of EDL
2023 december
AGE
1972 –
FAMILY
Married, two adult daughters
Biography
Major General Ilmar Tamm voluntarily entered the conscript service of the re-established Estonian Defence Forces in March 1992. He has since held a wide range of leadership and staff positions in Estonia, abroad, and within NATO. He played a key role in Estonia’s NATO accession and was one of the initiators behind the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn.
Ilmar is married to Annika, and they have two adult daughters, Anett and Laureen. In his free time, he enjoys off-road cycling, science fiction literature, and social Latin-style dancing with his wife.
Education
Finnish Military Academy, Officer training, graduated 1994 (one of the first ten Estonian officers to graduate)
Senior Staff Officers Course, Finnish National Defence University, 1998–2000
Royal College of Defence Studies, London, post-graduate studies, 2013
Career
Entered conscript service, Estonian Defence Forces, March 1992
Signal Battalion, company to battalion commander level, 1994–1998
Head of G6 Department, General Staff, 1998–2000
J6 Department, General Staff, Head of Department, 2001–2005
Coordinated secure communications for Estonia’s NATO accession, 2004
Initiator and core planning team member, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCD COE) project, 2004
Allied Land Component Command HQ, Heidelberg, Germany, G6 Section Head of Ops & Exercises, 2005–2008
Chief of CJ6 Ops, ISAF HQ, Kabul, 2007
Director, NATO CCD COE, Tallinn, 2008–2012
Chief of Staff, Estonian Defence League HQ, Tallinn, 2013–2018
Course Director, Joint Command & General Staff Course, Baltic Defence College, 2018–2020
Commandant, Baltic Defence College, June 2020 – June 2023
Deputy Commander, Estonian Defence Forces, second half of 2023
Commander, Estonian Defence League, since 16 December 2023