Jüri Vilms
Jüri Vilms (born March 1, jul. / 13. March 1889 greg. In Arkma, community Pilistvere (today the municipality of Türi ), Estonia ; † probably 13. April 1918 in Helsinki , Finland ) was an Estonian politician and co-founder in 1918 of the Republic Estonia.
Early years
Jüri Vilms (spelling Jüri Wilms until the 1920s ) was born the son of a farmer. He attended the parish school in Pilistvere and the boys' grammar school in Pärnu . In 1905 he was arrested by the tsarist police for political reasons and expelled from school. He fled to Finland briefly, but soon returned to Pärnu, where he graduated from high school in 1907.
Jüri Vilms studied law at the University of Tartu from 1907 to 1911 . He then worked as a lawyer in Tallinn . In 1912/13 he was also a sought-after journalist for legal topics.
Politician
With the Russian February Revolution in 1917 , Jüri Vilms took an active part in politics. He represented social democratic ideas and in May 1917 was a co-founder of the later Estonian Labor Party . He was one of the first politicians to demand complete autonomy for Estonia from the Russian Empire . In disputes with Jaan Tõnisson , who took a more moderate course, and with Konstantin Päts , who at the time was ready to make wide concessions to the Baltic German upper class in Estonia, Vilms made a name for himself with more radical ideas on Estonian sovereignty.
From 1917 Vilms belonged to the Provisional District Administrator of the Estonian Governorate ( Eestimaa Kubermangu Ajutine Maanõukogu ) formed by resolution of the Provisional Government of Russia on April 12, 1917 . From July 27 to October 25, 1917, Vilms was also its second deputy chairman.
Estonian independence
On February 19, 1918, Jüri Vilms, together with Konstantin Päts and Konstantin Konik, became a member of the Estonian Rescue Committee (Eesti Pästekomitee) established by the Eesti Maanõukogu Vanematekogu . All executive power in Estonia has been entrusted to the rescue committee.
On February 24, 1918, Estonia's state independence was proclaimed. On the same day, the Rescue Committee formed the 13-member Provisional Government of Estonia . It was a member of Jüri Vilms as deputy head of government and court minister.
death
In March 1918, Jüri Vilms made during the German occupation of Estonia with three companions (Arnold Jurgens, Johannes Peistik and Aleksei Rünk), a carriage and a horse across the frozen Baltic Sea on to discuss Finland (where just a civil war took place) to Sweden to to travel. There he was supposed to ensure foreign policy support for the young Republic of Estonia. On March 24, 1918, the four men were arrested by German soldiers on the island of Suursaari . The four were probably executed soon after in Helsinki (possibly in the Töölö sugar factory ); Their exact fate has not yet been clarified. In 1920 he was buried in Pilistvere (today Kõo parish ). His monument in Pärnu was created in 2005 by Mare Mikoff .
Aftermath
Jüri Vilms is the main character in the historical novel Tabamatus by Jaan Kross , published in 1993 .
literature
- Hando Runnel (Ed.): Jüri Vilms mälestustes , Tartu 1998
- Jüri Vilms: Kahe ilma vahel , Tallinn 1998 (anthology)
- Seppo Zetterberg : Jüri Vilmsi surm , Tallinn 2004
Web links
- Peeter Järvelaid: Jüri Vilms eesti õiguskultuuris , in: Sirp, March 12, 2004
- "Jüri Vilms elas Eestile ning suri Eesti eest", in Pärnu Postimees, March 11, 2005
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry in the baptismal register of the parish Pillistfer (Estonian: Pilistvere kogudus)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Vilms, Jüri |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wilms, Jüri |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Estonian politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 13, 1889 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Arkma, Pilistvere Municipality , Estonia |
| DATE OF DEATH | around April 13, 1918 |
| Place of death | unsure: Helsinki |