Jaan Tõnisson

Jaan Tõnisson (1928)

Jaan Tõnisson (born December 10 ^{. Jul} / 22. December  1868 ^greg. In the village Tänassilma today Landsgemeinde Viiratsi / Viljandi County ;? † July 1941 ()) an Estonian publisher, politician, Prime Minister and Head of State was the Republic of Estonia .

Tsar times

Tõnisson was born the son of a farmer. After graduating from high school in Tallinn , he studied law at the University of Tartu from 1889-1892 . As a student he was already active in the influential “ Association of Estonian Students ” (Estonian: Eesti Üliõpilaste Selts ), of which he was chairman in 1891/92. In 1893 Tõnisson became editor of the Postimees newspaper . He was noticed by articles that spoke out in favor of strengthening Estonian national consciousness and against the tsarist Russification tendencies in Estonia. In 1896, Tõnisson and friends bought Postimees and built on his position as one of the leading publicists in the country.

When the tsar had to grant further rights with the revolution of 1905 , Tõnisson founded the National Progressive Party ( Eesti Rahvameelne Eduerakond ), the first Estonian party. 1905–1907 he was elected as the first well-known Estonian member of the Russian State Duma . He campaigned vehemently for further liberalization and against the terror of tsarist punitive battalions. After the Duma was dissolved by the Tsar, he signed the Vyborg Manifesto , which called on the population to civil disobedience. As a result, he was arrested in 1908 and imprisoned for several months.

With the revolution of 1917 Tõnisson saw the moment and demanded full sovereignty of Estonia. Driven into exile by the Bolsheviks , he remained active abroad and witnessed the Estonian declaration of independence on February 24, 1918.

Republic of Estonia

In the elections for the constituent assembly in the spring of 1919, Tõnisson's party came in only third. In November 1919, however, Tõnisson was appointed Prime Minister and held the office until July 1920. After the peace treaty of Tartu with Soviet Russia on February 2, 1920, which ended the war of independence and led to the final recognition of the Republic of Estonia, Tõnisson's party lost its popularity. Tõnisson still belonged to the parliament ( Riigikogu ) and served again as prime minister from July to October 1920.

Tõnisson remained one of the most gifted Estonian politicians of the interwar period. From 1896 to 1930 he was the owner of the largest daily newspaper Postimees and from 1896 to 1935 its editor-in-chief. He also owned a large printing company and bookstore in Tartu, and he also worked as a lawyer. From 1919 to 1932 he was chairman of the Estonian People's Party ( Eesti Rahvaerakond ). 1923–1925 Tõnisson was President of Parliament, 1931/32 Estonian Foreign Minister. From December 9, 1927 to December 4, 1928 and from May 18, 1933 to October 21, 1933 he held the office of Estonian head of state ( Riigivanem ).

With the constitution adopted by referendum in 1933 and the beginning of the authoritarian regime under Konstantin Päts a year later, parties were banned and civil rights restricted. The government expropriated postimees . Tõnisson was soon elected to the opponent of Pats' and in 1938 again elected to parliament, where he unsuccessfully campaigned for the restoration of democracy.

Soviet occupation

Even during the Soviet occupation of Estonia in the summer of 1940, Tõnisson tried to run democratic opponents in the communist sham elections. In December 1940 he was arrested by the NKVD . His further fate is unknown. Presumably he was shot dead by the NKVD in July 1941.

Appreciation

Jaan Tõnisson was one of the most active and fearless political figures in Estonia during the interwar period. He played a key role in shaping the Estonian state. In the course of his life he increasingly combined his initially nationalist views with social, but above all with liberal, ideas. He had his influence less as a politician than as a publicist and thought leader. Tõnisson's monument stands in front of the Postimees editorial office in Tartu today .

Web links

• Biography of the Estonian Presidential Office (in English)
• Biography of the Jaan Tõnisson Institute, Tallinn (in Estonian)
• Biography , Estonian Literature Museum (Estonian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Internet Archive: Luup No. 16 (47); August 4, 1997, Mart Laar, Jaan Tõnissoni viimased päevad ( Memento from December 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive )