August Rei | |
|---|---|
.jpg) August Reic. 1926–1930 | |
| Prime Minister in duties of the President of theEstonian government-in-exile | |
| In office 9 January 1945 – 29 March 1963 | |
| Preceded by | Jüri Uluots |
| Succeeded by | Aleksander Warma |
| 9thState Elder of Estonia | |
| In office 4 December 1928 – 9 July 1929 | |
| Preceded by | Jaan Tõnisson |
| Succeeded by | Otto Strandman |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia | |
| In office 1 November 1932 – 18 May 1933 | |
| Preceded by | Mihkel Pung |
| Succeeded by | Ants Piip |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1886-03-22)22 March 1886 Kurla,Kreis Fellin,Governorate of Livonia,Russian Empire |
| Died | 29 March 1963(1963-03-29) (aged 77) Stockholm,Sweden |
| Political party | Estonian Social Democratic Workers' Party Estonian Socialist Workers' Party |
| Alma mater | Saint Petersburg State University |
August Rei (22 March [O.S. 10 March] 1886[1] – 29 March 1963) was anEstonian politician. He served asState Elder of Estonia from 1928 to 1929, and asPrime Minister in duties of the President of theEstonian government-in-exile from 1945 to 1963.
August Rei was born inKurla,Pilistvere parish,Kreis Fellin (nowTüri Parish,Järva County). He began studying at Emperor Alexander High School inTartu, but abandoned his studies there in December 1902, in order to forestall his expulsion after participating in Estonian nationalist circles. He continued his studies atNovgorod State High School, graduating in 1904. In 1904–1905 and 1907–1911, he studied law atSaint Petersburg State University. During this time, he also translated works by socialist theoreticians such asFerdinand Lassalle,Karl Kautsky andAugust Bebel to Estonian.
Rei participated in theRussian Revolution of 1905, taking part in the organization of an uprising at the cruiserPamiat Azova in July 1906 and operating as an underground activist inNarva. In 1906, he edited the underground paperSotsiaaldemokraat ("Social Democrat") inTallinn. Between 1912 and 1913, he was in compulsory army service. In 1913–1914 he worked as a lawyer inViljandi.
DuringWorld War I, Rei served as an artillery officer at thePeter and Paul Fortress in Saint Petersburg in 1914–1917. In 1917–1918 he organized the Estonian national army units, formed by the initiative of Estonian politicians after theSecond Russian Revolution in March 1917. Rei was the head of the Judicial Department of the Estonian Military Headquarters, for a short time Secretary of the Higher Military Court, and a second lieutenant from 1918.
In 1917–1919, he was editor-in-chief of the paperSotsiaaldemokraat, and between 1927 and 1928 he was the editor ofRahva Sõna ("Word of the People"). Rei was one of the leaders of the moderate faction of Estonia'ssocial democratic movement. Aside of his later political career, he also worked as a lawyer in Tallinn up to 1936, and defendedAdo Birk during his trial in 1927. He received a honorary doctorate in law fromTartu University.
After the end of theGerman occupation of Estonia in September 1918, Rei was appointed Minister of Labour and Social Welfare in theEstonian Provisional Government. Between November 1918 and January 1919, he also served as Deputy Prime Minister underKonstantin Päts, and as Acting Minister of Education as a substitute ofKarl Luts, as the latter was imprisoned in Russia and unable to exercise his functions. After a government reshuffle in February 1919, Rei served as a legal advisor in the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
Representing theEstonian Social Democratic Workers' Party (ESDWP), Rei was a member of theEstonian Provincial Assembly in 1917–1919, and then of theEstonian Constituent Assembly, where he was also Chairman between April 1919 and December 1920. From 1920 to 1937, Rei represented the ESDWP in the I and IIRiigikogu, and theEstonian Socialist Workers' Party (ESWP) in the III, IV and V Riigikogu. He was also Chairman of the II Riigikogu between June 1925 and June 1926.[2]
Between December 1928 and July 1929, Rei wasState Elder of Estonia; during his term, a trade agreement with theSoviet Union was signed, and he hosted a visit of the King ofSwedenGustaf V to Estonia. Between 1930 and 1934, Rei was chairman of Tallinn City Council, as well as an advisor to the Ministry of Roads. Between November 1932 and May 1933, he served asMinister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Konstantin Päts. Between August 1936 and December 1937 he was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then Estonia's envoy to the Soviet Union in 1938–1940.
Following the June 1940Soviet invasion and occupation of Estonia and the other Baltic states, Rei escaped fromMoscow toStockholm throughRiga. Remaining in Sweden for the rest of his life, he was active in several Estonian exile organisations duringWorld War II, and served asPrime Minister in duties of the President of theEstonian government-in-exile from 1945 until his death.
Rei died in Stockholm in 1963. In 2006, his urn, along with the urn of his wife Therese Rei, were moved fromBromma Cemetery in Stockholm toMetsakalmistu Cemetery in Tallinn.
Estonia:Cross of Liberty III, 1st class (1920) Estonia:Order of the Cross of the Eagle, 1st class (1930)| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Speaker of theRiigikogu 1925–1926 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Head of State of Estonia 1928–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1932–1933 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister in duties of the President 1945–1963 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Ants Piip (not in exile) | Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs in exile 1944 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | Ambassador of Estonia to Soviet Union 1938–1940 | Succeeded by none |
