The Estonian scientist who blocked phosphorite mining from inside the system
He stood out in TV debates by carrying a portfolio of documents and smoothly pulling out the relevant one to prove his point whenever opponents challenged him.
Estonian chemical physicist and politician. After studying oil-shale technology at Tallinn Polytechnic, he built the Soviet bloc's first NMR spectrometer and became a pioneer of high-resolution solid-state NMR spectroscopy. As a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, he led scientists in exposing the environmental and demographic dangers of planned phosphorite mines in 1987, providing the intellectual foundation for the 'Phosphorite War,' a catalyst for mass resistance and the independence movement. As a USSR People's Deputy, he unearthed and publicised the secret protocols of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, demolishing the legal basis for the Baltic annexation; after independence he served twice as a government minister.
Career Timeline
- 1953Graduated from Tallinn Polytechnic, oil-shale technology
- 1956PhD in chemistry
- 1969DSc in physics and mathematics, USSR Institute of Chemical Physics
- 1972Elected Member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences
- 1975Full Academician, Estonian Academy of Sciences; board member until 2014
- 1980Founded and directed the Institute of Chemical and Biological Physics
- 1989–1991USSR People's Deputy; exposed the secret protocols of the Nazi-Soviet Pact
- 1990–1991Minister for Eastern Affairs, Republic of Estonia
- 1995–1996Minister of European Affairs, Republic of Estonia
- 1996–1999Member of the Riigikogu (parliament)