Barbara A. Lenk is an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. On April 4, 2011, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick nominated her to to that position and she was confirmed by the Governor's Council on May 4, 2011. She took the oath of office on June 8.

Lenk was born in Queens, New York, to a poor family. Her parents were a bookbinder and a housekeeper. Her first language was Polish. She received a B.A. magna cum laude from Fordham University in 1972, a Ph.D. in political philosophy from Yale University in 1978, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1979. Upon graduation, she joined the Boston law firm of Brown, Rudnick, Freed & Gesmer and was a partner there for six years. Her practice focused on civil litigation, with a specialty in First Amendment issues.

In 1993, Massachusetts Governor William Weld, a Republican, named her to the state's Superior Court. She served there until Weld appointed her to the Appeals Court, where she began her service on June 20, 1995. When nominated to serve on the Supreme Judicial Court, Lenk was the longest serving member of the Appeals Court.

Andrus Ansip (born 1 October 1956) is the current Prime Minister of Estonia, and chairman of the market liberal Estonian Reform Party (Estonian: Reformierakond).

Born in Tartu, Ansip graduated from the University of Tartu with a degree in Chemistry in 1979. He worked as an engineer at Tartu State University from 1979–1983 (with a two-year break for mandatory military service). He was an Instructor in the Industry Department and Head of the Organisational Department of the Tartu District Committee of the Estonian Communist Party from 1986–1988. Ansip has been involved in several banking and investment ventures. He has served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the People’s Bank of Tartu (Estonian: Rahvapank), Chairman of the Board of Livonia Privatisation IF, and CEO of Investment Fund Broker Ltd (Estonian: Fondiinvesteeringu Maakler AS). He also has served as Chairman of the board for Radio Tartu.

In 1998, Ansip was elected as Mayor of Tartu as a candidate of the centrist-right Reformierakond (Reform Party), a position which he held until 2004, to great popular acclaim and very high ratings in the opinion polls. He had run in previous elections for the Riigikogu, the Estonian Parliament, but had always given up his seat in order to remain Mayor. He was succeeded by fellow Reform Party member Laine Jänes.