1868–1941?
Missing; presumed dead
Estonian prime minister who concluded the Treaty of Tartu, publisher of Postimees
As Soviet forces occupied Estonia in June 1940, he urged President Päts to offer at least symbolic armed resistance.
Leader of Estonia's liberal national movement through the newspaper Postimees, he was prime minister in 1919 and 1920 and concluded the Treaty of Tartu. Pushed out for opposing Päts's authoritarian regime in 1934, he was arrested after the Soviet occupation of 1940 and disappeared.
Activities and affiliations
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1905–1917
Estonian National Progress Party (Eesti Rahvameelne Eduerakond)Main
Political and party leadership -
1919–1932
Political and party leadership
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Estonia state institutionsPrime Minister, State Elder, Foreign Minister
Government and administration
Career Timeline
- 1896Editor and publisher of Postimees, turning it into the organ of the national movement
- 1906Member of the First Russian State Duma; signed the Vyborg Appeal
- 1917Member of the Estonian Provincial Assembly (Maapäev)
- 1919–1920Prime Minister; concluded the Treaty of Tartu
- 1923–1925Speaker (President) of the Riigikogu
- 1927–1928State Elder
- 1931–1932Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1933State Elder (final government)
Related historical events
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign InterventionEstonian prime minister during the Tartu settlementBecame prime minister in November 1919 and backed the Tartu peace talks; the treaty of 2 February 1920 was signed under his government.
- 1918.11–1920.10Baltic wars of independence and border settlementsEstonian prime minister during the Tartu settlementBecame prime minister in November 1919 and backed the Tartu peace talks; the treaty of 2 February 1920 was signed under his government.
Revolution and independence wars
Editor of the Tartu newspaper Postimees from 1896, he represented the liberal wing of the Estonian national movement, founded the Progressive People's Party in 1905 and sat in the Russian Duma. In 1917 he led the delegation demanding Estonian autonomy from the Provisional Government and after the declaration of independence sought recognition in the West. He became prime minister in November 1919 and backed the peace talks with Soviet Russia that opened at Tartu in December; the treaty of 2 February 1920 was signed under his government. He served as State Elder and speaker of parliament in the 1920s and was State Elder for the last time in 1933. Opposing Päts's authoritarian regime in 1934, he lost Postimees and was pushed out of politics. Arrested after the Soviet occupation of 1940, he disappeared and is presumed to have been executed in Tallinn in 1941.