 He was elected to the Tallinn City Council in 2005 and to the Riigikogu in 2007 and again in 2011.In December 2012, Rõivas became the youngest member of the Estonian Government as the Minister of Social Affairs, replacing Hanno Pevkur.Pevkur in turn replaced Kristen Michal as the Minister of Justice Kristen Michal who had resigned due to corruption allegations by fellow Reform Party member Silver Meikar.