Edgar Savisaar

Edgar Savisaar

Edgar Savisaar (born May 31, 1950 in the municipality of Harku ) is an Estonian politician. He was Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia from 1990 to 1992 , Chairman of the Estonian Center Party ( Eesti Keskerakond ) from 1991 to 2016, and Lord Mayor of the capital Tallinn from 2001 to 2004 and from 2007 to 2015 .

Life

childhood

Edgar Savisaar was born in Harku Women's Prison. The parents were arrested by the Soviet occupation authorities in the summer of 1949 . The father was sentenced to seven years of deportation and exile in Siberia , the mother to prison.

Early years

After graduating from high school in 1968, Edgar Savisaar completed his studies in history at the University of Tartu in 1973 and then worked as a research assistant. In 1980 he took a second exam in philosophy . From 1980 to 1988 Savisaar was employed in the state planning committees of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic . In 1988/89 he was director of the consulting company Mainor .

Politician

During the period of perestroika , Savisaar campaigned for Estonia's detachment from the Soviet Union and for democracy and human rights to be respected. In 1989 Edgar Savisaar became Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Estonian SSR and in 1990 Minister of Economy. On April 3, 1990 he became chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Estonia and thus head of government. With the regaining of Estonian independence on August 20, 1991 he became Estonian Prime Minister. He held the office until January 1992.

From 1992 to 1995 Savisaar was Deputy President of the Estonian Parliament ( Riigikogu ) and from April to October 1995 Minister of the Interior. He had to resign because of a bugging scandal. From 1996 to 2001 Savisaar was chairman of Tallinn City Council and from 2001 to 2004 Lord Mayor of the city. From April 2005 he was Minister of Economics in the cabinet of Prime Minister Andrus Ansip . In the Riigikogu elections in March 2007, the Keskerakond was the second strongest party, but a coalition with the reform party did not come about. For this reason, Savisaar resumed the position of Lord Mayor of Tallinn in 2007.

Savisaar was chairman of the Estonian Center Party from 1991 to 2016.

Private

Edgar Savisaar was married three times and has four children. His last wife, Vilja Savisaar (née Laanaru), with whom he was married from 1996 to 2009, is also politically active in the Center Party. She was elected to the European Parliament in the 2009 European elections in Estonia .

Awards

Edgar Savisaar has received the following state awards:

	Order of the State Coat of Arms (1st class)
	Three Star Order (Grand Officer)

Main publications

• Eesti Õpilasmaleva areng , Tallinn 1980
• Võitlus noorsoo pärast , Tallinn 1987
• Revolutsioon jätkub , Tallinn 1988
• Kõned , Tallinn 1990 (his speeches)
• Usun Eestisse , Tallinn 1999
• Peaminister: Eesti lähiajalugu 1990–1992 , Tallinn 2004 (memoirs of his time as Prime Minister)
• Rahvarinne 1988: (kakskümmend aastat hiljem) , Tallinn 2008
• Majanduspoliitika , Tallinn, Hong Kong 2008
• Kuidas ületada kriis? , Tallinn 2009

literature

• Munzinger International Biographical Archive 14/2002 of March 25, 2002 (lm)

Web links

Commons : Edgar Savisaar  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Biography of the Estonian State Chancellery (Estonian)
• Edgar Savisaare Blogi / Блог Эдгара Сависаара personal blog (Estonian / Russian)