Provisional government of Father III

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Konstantin Päts, here in a recording from 1934

The third provisional government of the Republic of Estonia under Prime Minister Konstantin Päts (Provisional Government Päts III) was in office from November 27, 1918 to May 9, 1919. It remained in office for 164 days.

Parties

The coalition government was set up in an agreement between all groups of the Estonian state parliament ( Maanõukogu ). The parties represented in it represented a broad political spectrum:

There was also one representative each of the German , Swedish and Russian minorities in Estonia.

In view of the threat of war with Soviet Russia, it was a matter of reshaping the previous cabinet . Prime Minister Konstantin Päts also took over the office of Minister of War in close consultation with General Andres Larka .

cabinet

Department Surname Term of office Political party
Prime Minister Konstantin Päts 11/27/1918 - 05/09/1919    EMRL
Deputy Prime Minister    August Rei 11/27/1918 - 01/24/1919 ESDTP
Minister of War Konstantin Päts 11/27/1918 - 05/09/1919 EMRL
Labor and Social Affairs Minister August Rei 11/27/1918 - 12/23/1918 ESDTP
Interior minister August Peet 11/27/1918 - 05/09/1919 independent
Foreign minister Jaan Poska 11/27/1918 - 05/09/1919 EDE
Minister of Agriculture Otto Strandman 11/27/1918 - 05/09/1919 ETE
Finance minister Juhan Kukk 11/27/1918 - 05/09/1919 ETE
Minister of Justice Jüri Jaakson 11/27/1918 - 05/09/1919 EDE
Minister of Industry and Trade Nikolai Köstner 11/27/1918 - 03/12/1919 ESDTP
Executive Minister of Industry and Trade    Voldemar Puhk ??. 12.1918 - 12.03.1919 ESDTP
Minister of Industry and Trade August Janson 03/12/1919 - 05/09/1919 ESDTP
Minister of Education Karl Luts 11/27/1918 - 03/12/1919 ESDTP
Minister of Education Harald Alfred Laksberg    03/12/1919 - 05/09/1919 independent   
Minister of transport Eduard Säkk 11/27/1918 - 05/09/1919 ETE
Minister of Food Jaan Raamot 11/27/1918 - 02/06/1919 EMRL
Managing Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Karl Ast December 23, 1918 - February 5, 1919 ESDTP
Minister for the German People Hermann Georg Willibald Koch    11/28/1918 - 05/09/1919 DbPE
Minister for the Swedish People Hans Pöhl December 11, 1918 - May 9, 1919 independent
Minister for the Russian People Aleksei Sorokin 02/28/1919 - 05/09/1919 VKK
Plenipotentiary Minister Abroad Jaan Tõnisson 11/27/1918 - 05/09/1919 EDE

history

The government faced three major challenges. For one thing, it was at war with Soviet Russia for Estonian independence. Second, it had to win over western governments for recognition of Estonian sovereignty. And third, the catastrophic supply situation for the population after the end of the First World War posed major problems for the government.

She took office on the eve of the Estonian War of Independence . Soviet Russia did not recognize Estonia's detachment from Russia (February 24, 1918). With the defeat of Imperial Germany in the First World War in November 1918 and the beginning of the withdrawal of German troops from the Baltic States , it saw a military opportunity to bring Estonia under the control of the Bolsheviks .

On November 29, 1918, one day after the war began, the Bolsheviks captured the northeast Estonian city of Narva . In December 1918, they took control of other East and South Estonian cities, including the second largest city, Tartu . The intervention of the British Navy prevented a conquest of Tallinn by Bolshevik naval forces in December . It was not until the turn of the year 1918/1919 that the newly established Estonian Army and the Estonian Navy were able to turn the fortunes of war in their favor, in particular through the use of armored trains . On January 19, 1919, the Estonian government was able to retake Narva, and on January 14, Tartu. Nevertheless, the war dragged on until February 1920.

Above all, the British government helped Estonia to improve the food situation of the population. From March 1919, food deliveries began to arrive. The Finnish government supported Estonia with generous loans. Other states made financial aid programs available to Estonia.

Both developments led to a consolidation of the Estonian state in the spring of 1919. Elections to the Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Estonia ( Asutav Kogu ) took place from April 5 to 7, 1919. The turnout was around 80 percent.

The elections resulted in a victory for the left-wing parties, notably the Eesti Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Tööliste Party (Estonian Social Democratic Workers Party, ESDTP) and the Eesti Tööerakond (Estonian Labor Party, ETE) and the Eesti Rahvaerakond (Estonian People's Party, ER). The agrarian-oriented party of the previous Prime Minister Konstantin Päts suffered a defeat.

The constituent assembly met for the first time in Tallinn on April 23, 1919. It elected the socialist August Rei as its chairman. On May 9, 1919, the first regular Estonian government took office under Prime Minister Otto Strandman ( ETE ).

See also

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Nikolai Köstner stayed abroad during this time
  2. ↑ Karl Luts was imprisoned in Russia