Roman Pipko

Roman Pipko (born July 10, 1960) is an American lawyer and the United States ambassador to Estonia. He was nominated by President Donald Trump, and confirmed by the US Senate to the position on October 7, 2025.

Early life and education Roman Pipko was born in Tallinn, Estonia, in 1960, during the Soviet occupation of the country, to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents. He attended the Faculty of Law at the University of Tartu in Estonia. He was not completely fluent in Estonian at the time.

In 1981, his mother left her husband, a member of the Soviet Communist Party, with their children to escape communism and start a better life for her family in the United States. Despite the strict Soviet laws restricting emigration, Jews were sometimes allowed to emigrate.

Career After immigrating to the US, Pipko worked at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University. He practiced law at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where he was a specialist in Russian law. He represented America as a senior counsel the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and was senior managing director of the Russian American Enterprise Fund. He has been involved in projects for the Export Import Bank.

Pipko visited Estonia as a legal advisor to US investors including Ronald Lauder in 1991, where he proved his fluency in Estonian and Russian. In 2009, he was the majority partner of Remi International which was part of a consortium of investors (including Ronald Lauder and others) who made an unsuccessful bid to purchase and renovate the Linnahall, a large multi-purpose venue in central Tallinn, Estonia. The project was to include a conference center, concert hall, casino center, and hotel at the site. Although an agreement was signed, it was canceled because the city and the company could not agree on the project's ownership structure. The site continues to be abandoned.

In 2024, he was appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to be the United States ambassador to Estonia. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 7, 2025. He presented his credentials to president Alar Karis on November 26, 2025.

Philanthropy Pipko is president of the board of trustees of the Park East Day School.

Albeit Pipko was able to immigrate to the United States in 1981, he and his family have been members of the Park East Synagogue already since 1974.