Estonian Government in Exile
Encyclopedia
The Estonian Government in Exile refers to the formally declared governmental authority of the Republic of Estonia in exile, existing from 1953 until the reestablishment of Estonian sovereignty over Estonian territory in 1992. It traced its legitimacy through constitutional succession to the last Estonian government in power prior to the Soviet invasion of 1940.
Konstantin Päts
and deported him to the USSR where he died in prison in 1956. Many members of the current and past governments were deported or executed, including 8 former heads of state and 38 ministers. Those that survived went underground.
Jüri Uluots
was the last constitutional prime minister at the time of Soviet occupation. With the loss of Päts, Uluots, as the head of the Estonian government in accordance with Section 46 the Estonian Constitution (Riigi Teataja 03.09.1937 No. 71 Art 590), which specified that in the case that the President vacated the office or was otherwise unable to execute his duties, those duties were to be assumed by the Prime Minister, who carries duties of the Prime Minister to the Acting Prime Minister, became acting head of State.
Uluots attempted to appoint a new Estonian government in July 1941, at the beginning of the German occupation, but German authorities refused to recognize Estonia as a sovereign state.
. The Committee proclaimed itself the supreme power of the Republic of Estonia on August 1, 1944.
In June 1942 political leaders of Estonia who had survived Soviet repressions held a meeting hidden from the occupying powers in Estonia where the formation of an underground Estonian government and the options for preserving continuity of the republic were discussed. On January 6, 1943 a meeting was held at the Estonian foreign delegation in Stockholm
. In order to preserve the legal continuation of the Republic of Estonia, it was decided that the last constitutional prime minister, Jüri Uluots, had to continue to fulfill his responsibilities as prime minister. On April 20, 1944, the Electoral Committee of the Republic of Estonia (Vabariigi Presidendi Asetäitja Valimiskogu, the institution specified in the Constitution for electing the Acting President of the Republic) held a clandestine meeting in Tallinn. The participants included:
The Committee determined that the Soviet-era appointment of Johannes Vares
as Prime Minister by Konstantin Päts had been illegal and that Uluots had assumed the President's duties from June 21, 1940 onwards. On June 21, 1944 – Jüri Uluots appointed Otto Tief
as deputy prime minister. On September 18, 1944 Uluots, suffering from cancer, named Otto Tief
the Acting Prime Minister and appointed a Government which consisted of 11 members. On September 20, 1944, Uluots, in failing health, departed for Sweden. Tief assumed office in accordance with the constitution and took the opportunity with the departure of the Germans to declare the legitimate Estonian government restored. Most of members of this government left from Tallinn on September 21 and Tief on September 22. As reported by the Royal Institute of International Affairs: on September 21 the Estonian national government was proclaimed, Estonian forces seized the government buildings in Toompea
and ordered the German forces to leave. The flag of Germany was replaced with the Estonian tricolour
in the Pikk Hermann
flag tower. Tief’s government, however, failed to keep control, as Estonian military units led by Johan Pitka
clashed with both Germans and Soviets. On September 22 the Soviets took control of Tallinn and took the Estonian flag down.
, as the most senior surviving member of the government, assumed the role of acting head of state. Rei was supported by the surviving members of the Tief's government in Sweden. Rei was the last Estonian envoy in Moscow before the Soviet annexation and had managed to escape from Moscow through Riga to Stockholm in June 1940.
Rei declared an official Estonian government in exile on January 12, 1953 in Oslo
, Norway
. (Oslo, not Stockholm
, was chosen because Norway
did not have bans on such political activity, while Sweden
had.) However, another group of Estonian politicians believed a president should be elected through some representative body. This group was led by Alfred Maurer, who had been second deputy chairman of the National Council of Estonia prior to 1940. Maurer was elected Acting President of the Republic (Vabariigi Presidendi Asetäitja) in exile on March 3, 1953 in Augustdorf, Germany. While Maurer's lineage had more support among the exile community, he never appointed any new government (stating that Tief's government is still in office and there is no need for a new government) and this line became extinct upon Maurer’s death a year-and-a-half later, on September 20, 1954. This left the Rei government as the sole contestant to legitimacy.
The position of acting head of government continued to be assumed by succession following Rei’s death in 1963. From 1953 to 1992, five governments in exile were formed.
.
Under the Stimson Doctrine
, USA, and under similar doctrine
s, the legitimacy of the Soviet occupation of Baltic states was never recognized. As primary diplomatic authority was exercised by the Estonian consulate (in New York), the government in exile’s role from Oslo was, to a great degree, symbolic in nature.
However, the Estonian government in exile did serve to carry the continuity of the Estonian state forward. The last prime minister in the duties of the president, Heinrich Mark
, ended the work of the government in exile when he handed over his credentials to the incoming President Lennart Meri
on October 8, 1992. Meri issued a statement thanking the Estonian government in exile for being the keepers of the legal continuity of the Estonian state.
A group of activists including Mihkel Mathiesen
, Kalev Ots and Ahti Mänd refused to accept the dissolution of the government in exile, claiming that no Estonian government could be legitimate unless its authority was derived from the 1938 Constitution. They reconstituted the government in exile, based in Nõmme
to this day.
Members of Estonian government go underground during Soviet occupation
The USSR illegally annexed Estonia in June, 1940. Soviet authorities arrested PresidentPresident of Estonia
The President of the Republic is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia.Estonia is a parliamentary republic, therefore President is mainly a symbolic figure and holds no executive power. The President has to suspend his membership in any political party for his term in office...
Konstantin Päts
Konstantin Päts
Konstantin Päts VR I/1 and III/1 was the most influential politician of interwar Estonia. He was one of the first Estonians to become active in politics and started an almost 40-year political rivalry with Jaan Tõnisson, first through journalism with his newspaper Teataja, later through politics...
and deported him to the USSR where he died in prison in 1956. Many members of the current and past governments were deported or executed, including 8 former heads of state and 38 ministers. Those that survived went underground.
Jüri Uluots
Jüri Uluots
Jüri Uluots was an Estonian prime minister, journalist, prominent attorney and distinguished Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Tartu....
was the last constitutional prime minister at the time of Soviet occupation. With the loss of Päts, Uluots, as the head of the Estonian government in accordance with Section 46 the Estonian Constitution (Riigi Teataja 03.09.1937 No. 71 Art 590), which specified that in the case that the President vacated the office or was otherwise unable to execute his duties, those duties were to be assumed by the Prime Minister, who carries duties of the Prime Minister to the Acting Prime Minister, became acting head of State.
Uluots attempted to appoint a new Estonian government in July 1941, at the beginning of the German occupation, but German authorities refused to recognize Estonia as a sovereign state.
National Committee under occupation by Nazi Germany
The National Committee of the Republic of Estonia was formed from individuals engaged in the Estonian government prior to Soviet annexation. The Committee was led initially, from March 23, 1944, by Kaarel Liidak, then, from August 15 or 16, by Otto TiefOtto Tief
Otto Tief was a lawyer, an Estonian military commander during the Estonian War of Independence and a politician. He was Acting Prime Minister of the last government of Estonia before Soviet troops occupied Estonia in 1944...
. The Committee proclaimed itself the supreme power of the Republic of Estonia on August 1, 1944.
Failure to reestablish independence
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. In order to preserve the legal continuation of the Republic of Estonia, it was decided that the last constitutional prime minister, Jüri Uluots, had to continue to fulfill his responsibilities as prime minister. On April 20, 1944, the Electoral Committee of the Republic of Estonia (Vabariigi Presidendi Asetäitja Valimiskogu, the institution specified in the Constitution for electing the Acting President of the Republic) held a clandestine meeting in Tallinn. The participants included:
- Jüri UluotsJüri UluotsJüri Uluots was an Estonian prime minister, journalist, prominent attorney and distinguished Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Tartu....
, the last Prime Minister of Estonia before the Soviet occupation, - Johan Holberg, the substitute for Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces ,
- Otto Pukk, the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies,
- Alfred Maurer, the Second deputy Vice-Chairman of the National Council,
- Mihkel KlaassenMihkel KlaassenMihkel Klaassen was a justice of the Supreme Court of Estonia since 1924.Klaassen was a member of the Electoral Committee that decided the Soviet-era appointment of Johannes Vares as Prime Minister by Konstantin Päts had been illegal and stated, that Jüri Uluots is Prime Minister acting as...
, Justice of the Supreme Court of EstoniaSupreme Court of EstoniaThe Supreme Court of Estonia is the court of last resort in Estonia. It is both a court of cassation and a constitutional court. The courthouse is in Tartu.Chief justices=* Kaarel Parts * Rait Maruste...
.
The Committee determined that the Soviet-era appointment of Johannes Vares
Johannes Vares
Johannes Vares , commonly known as Johannes Vares Barbarus, was an Estonian poet, doctor, and politician.Vares was born in Heimtali, now in Pärsti Parish, Viljandi County, and educated at Pärnu Gymnasium...
as Prime Minister by Konstantin Päts had been illegal and that Uluots had assumed the President's duties from June 21, 1940 onwards. On June 21, 1944 – Jüri Uluots appointed Otto Tief
Otto Tief
Otto Tief was a lawyer, an Estonian military commander during the Estonian War of Independence and a politician. He was Acting Prime Minister of the last government of Estonia before Soviet troops occupied Estonia in 1944...
as deputy prime minister. On September 18, 1944 Uluots, suffering from cancer, named Otto Tief
Otto Tief
Otto Tief was a lawyer, an Estonian military commander during the Estonian War of Independence and a politician. He was Acting Prime Minister of the last government of Estonia before Soviet troops occupied Estonia in 1944...
the Acting Prime Minister and appointed a Government which consisted of 11 members. On September 20, 1944, Uluots, in failing health, departed for Sweden. Tief assumed office in accordance with the constitution and took the opportunity with the departure of the Germans to declare the legitimate Estonian government restored. Most of members of this government left from Tallinn on September 21 and Tief on September 22. As reported by the Royal Institute of International Affairs: on September 21 the Estonian national government was proclaimed, Estonian forces seized the government buildings in Toompea
Toompea
Toompea is a limestone hill in the central part of the city of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The hill is an oblong tableland, which measures about 400 by 250 metres, has an area of and is about 20–30 metres higher than the surrounding areas...
and ordered the German forces to leave. The flag of Germany was replaced with the Estonian tricolour
Flag of Estonia
The national flag of Estonia is a tricolour featuring three equal horizontal bands of blue , black, and white. The normal size is 105 × 165 cm...
in the Pikk Hermann
Pikk Hermann
Pikk Hermann is a tower of the Toompea Castle, on Toompea hill in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The first part was built 1360-70. It was rebuilt in the 16th century...
flag tower. Tief’s government, however, failed to keep control, as Estonian military units led by Johan Pitka
Johan Pitka
Johan Pitka, VR I/1, KCMG was a famous Estonian military commander from the Estonian War of Independence until World War II.-Early life:...
clashed with both Germans and Soviets. On September 22 the Soviets took control of Tallinn and took the Estonian flag down.
Flight ahead of Soviet forces
The Tief's government fled Tallinn. The last meeting was held in Põgari village on September 22. However, the boat which was to rendezvous to evacuate them across the Baltic developed engine trouble and failed to arrive in time. Most of the members and officials, including Tief, were caught, jailed, deported, or executed by the advancing Soviets. Tief managed to survive a decade in Siberia and died back in Estonia in 1976. Only Kaarel Liidak, Minister of Agriculture, died in hiding on January 16, 1945.Rei succession and Maurer rivalry
After Uluots died on January 9, 1945, August ReiAugust Rei
August Rei VR III/1 was an Estonian Social Democratic politician. He was born in Pilistvere, Kõo Parish, Viljandi County.- Education :...
, as the most senior surviving member of the government, assumed the role of acting head of state. Rei was supported by the surviving members of the Tief's government in Sweden. Rei was the last Estonian envoy in Moscow before the Soviet annexation and had managed to escape from Moscow through Riga to Stockholm in June 1940.
Rei declared an official Estonian government in exile on January 12, 1953 in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. (Oslo, not Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, was chosen because Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
did not have bans on such political activity, while Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
had.) However, another group of Estonian politicians believed a president should be elected through some representative body. This group was led by Alfred Maurer, who had been second deputy chairman of the National Council of Estonia prior to 1940. Maurer was elected Acting President of the Republic (Vabariigi Presidendi Asetäitja) in exile on March 3, 1953 in Augustdorf, Germany. While Maurer's lineage had more support among the exile community, he never appointed any new government (stating that Tief's government is still in office and there is no need for a new government) and this line became extinct upon Maurer’s death a year-and-a-half later, on September 20, 1954. This left the Rei government as the sole contestant to legitimacy.
The position of acting head of government continued to be assumed by succession following Rei’s death in 1963. From 1953 to 1992, five governments in exile were formed.
Diplomacy
Of the three Baltic states, only Estonia established a formal government in exile. In the cases of Latvia and Lithuania, sovereign authority had been vested in its diplomatic legations. Even with regard to Estonia, the legations were the primary instrument for the conduct of diplomacy and for administering the daily matters of state (such as issuing passports). Estonia’s primary legation was the consulate in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Under the Stimson Doctrine
Stimson Doctrine
The Stimson Doctrine is a policy of the United States federal government, enunciated in a note of January 7, 1932, to Japan and China, of non-recognition of international territorial changes that were executed by force. The doctrine was an application of the principle of ex injuria jus non oritur...
, USA, and under similar doctrine
Doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
s, the legitimacy of the Soviet occupation of Baltic states was never recognized. As primary diplomatic authority was exercised by the Estonian consulate (in New York), the government in exile’s role from Oslo was, to a great degree, symbolic in nature.
However, the Estonian government in exile did serve to carry the continuity of the Estonian state forward. The last prime minister in the duties of the president, Heinrich Mark
Heinrich Mark
Heinrich Mark was born on October 1, 1911, in Krootuse, Kõlleste Parish, now in Põlva County, Estonia. He died on August 2, 2004, in Stockholm, Sweden....
, ended the work of the government in exile when he handed over his credentials to the incoming President Lennart Meri
Lennart Meri
Lennart Georg Meri was a writer, film director and statesman who served as the second President of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Meri was a leader of the Estonian independence movement.-Early life:...
on October 8, 1992. Meri issued a statement thanking the Estonian government in exile for being the keepers of the legal continuity of the Estonian state.
A group of activists including Mihkel Mathiesen
Mihkel Mathiesen
Mihkel Mathiesen was an Estonian statesman.He was Estonian Minister of Communications in exile from 5 June 1985 to 20 June 1990 and Minister of Economic Affairs in exile from 20 June 1990 to 15 September 1992....
, Kalev Ots and Ahti Mänd refused to accept the dissolution of the government in exile, claiming that no Estonian government could be legitimate unless its authority was derived from the 1938 Constitution. They reconstituted the government in exile, based in Nõmme
Nõmme
Nõmme is one of the 8 administrative districts of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 38,168 and covers an area of , population density is...
to this day.
List of Acting Prime Ministers (Peaministri asetäitjad)
- Otto TiefOtto TiefOtto Tief was a lawyer, an Estonian military commander during the Estonian War of Independence and a politician. He was Acting Prime Minister of the last government of Estonia before Soviet troops occupied Estonia in 1944...
(18 September 1944 - 12 January 1953, remained in Estonia, Soviet prisoner since 10 October 1944) - Johannes SikkarJohannes SikkarJohannes Sikkar was first head of the Estonian government in exile as Acting Prime Minister.Sikkar served in the Estonian War of Independence against post-revolutionary Soviet Russia on armoured train as a voluntary and an officer, he was granted a farm, which he held until 1944. He finished...
(12 January 1953- 22 August 1960) - Tõnis KintTõnis KintTõnis Kint was an Estonian politician. He served as "Prime Minister in duties of the President" from December 23, 1970 to March 1, 1990.From April 7, 1938 member of the Chamber of Deputies...
(22 August 1960- 1 January 1962) - Aleksander WarmaAleksander WarmaAleksander Warma VR I/3 was an Estonian navy officer, diplomat and painter....
(1 January 1962 - 29 March 1963) - Tõnis Kint (2 April 1963- 23 December 1970)
- Heinrich MarkHeinrich MarkHeinrich Mark was born on October 1, 1911, in Krootuse, Kõlleste Parish, now in Põlva County, Estonia. He died on August 2, 2004, in Stockholm, Sweden....
(8 May 1971 - 1 March 1990) - Enno PennoEnno PennoEnno Penno is a former Estonian politician and was acting Prime Minister of Estonia in exile from 1 March 1990 to 15 September 1992.- References :...
(1 March 1990 - 15 September 1992)