Taimar Peterkop

Taimar Peterkop is an Estonian civil servant and cybersecurity/digital-government expert. He currently works as Senior Expert in Cybersecurity at the e-Governance Academy, where he advises public-sector organisations on strategic governance planning, crisis management, resilient digital government, and secure cross-border digital solutions.

Peterkop served as Secretary of State of the Republic of Estonia from 2018 to 2025. In that role, he supported the Estonian Government and Prime Minister and ran the Government Office. According to e-Governance Academy, his responsibilities included national strategic planning, EU policy coordination, security and defence coordination, government communication, and senior civil-service selection and development.

Before becoming Secretary of State, Peterkop led Estonia’s Information System Authority from 2015 to 2018, a government agency responsible for core e-government systems including eID and X-Road, as well as national cybersecurity. During that period, RIA managed the 2017 e-ID crisis, expanded the use of Estonia’s digital identity, secured i-voting systems, and introduced a service-based approach inside the agency.

Earlier in his career, Peterkop worked as a lawyer at the Government Office in 2000-2001, held several roles at the Ministry of Defence from 2001 to 2008, served as Defence Counsellor at the Estonian Embassy in Washington, D.C. from 2008 to 2010, and was Deputy Secretary General for Legal and Administrative Affairs at the Ministry of Defence from 2010 to 2015. He graduated from the University of Tartu Faculty of Law and holds a master’s degree in strategic studies from the United States Army War College.

• I found no verified evidence that Taimar Peterkop is an angel investor, seed investor, venture capitalist, or startup backer.
• His stated professional focus is public-sector digital transformation and resilience. He says his experience as RIA Director General and Secretary of State gave him insight into “building a secure and resilient digital government” and supporting “secure cross-border digital solutions.”
• His public thesis is governance-led rather than investment-led: “Digital transformation is a governance challenge, and not just a technical issue.”
• He emphasizes trust, institutional resilience, iterative delivery, and leadership ownership in digital transformation: “Start small. Don’t wait for the grand strategy. Build something useful. And above all, build trust.”