Ülo Nugis (28 April 1944 – 18 November 2011) was an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n politician and economist. As Speaker of the

Supreme Council of Estonia The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR (Estonian language, Estonian: ''Eesti NSV Ülemnõukogu'') was the formal Rubber stamp (politics), rubber stamp legislative body of the Estonian SSR without any substantive meaning, which was formally ele ...

on 20 August 1991, he presided over the Supreme Council's historic session when it voted for the restoration of Estonia's national independence from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Early life

Ülo Nugis was born on 28 April 1944 in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. He studied at Tallinn Technical Secondary School for Building and Mechanics from 1958 to 1962, at Tallinn Polytechnic Institute from 1962 to 1965, and finally at Belarusian State Polytechnic Institute from 1965 to 1967 graduating in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

Career

Nugis worked as a teacher at Tallinn Technical Secondary School for Building and Mechanics from 1967 to 1968, and at various positions in the Pioneer and Tegur factories from 1968 to 1974. In 1974, Nugis became director of the building materials factory Ehitusdetail, and in 1980 director of a ski factory, Dünamo. In 1986, he became director of the Estoplast factory. Under his leadership, central

control of Estoplast was transferred to local

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

control in 1988. Together with other Estonian-minded industrial leaders, Nugis formed the Union of Work Collectives () where he became the leader. In 1990, Nugis was elected to the Estonian Supreme Council at the first mostly free elections, becoming Speaker. That same year, he left the Communist Party and founded the Republican Coalition Party. On 20 August 1991, he presided over the Supreme Council's historic session where it voted to restore Estonia's national independence, with the

gavel A gavel is a small ceremonial mallet/hammer commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle. It can be used to call for attention or to punctuate rulings and proclamations and is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially ...

strike by Nugis confirming the result. In October, Nugis became the first Estonian politician to publicly state that the country should try to join

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

as soon as possible, even as Soviet troops were still present in the Baltic nation. In 1992 he became the speaker of the newly elected

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (, from Estonian ''riigi-'', "of the state", and ''kogu'', "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chi ...

. Over the years he was in multiple different parties, including the

Pro Patria National Coalition Party Pro Patria National Coalition Party (''Rahvuslik Koonderakond Isamaa'' - RKEI) was an Estonian political party founded in 1992. In 1995, it merged with the Estonian National Independence Party into Pro Patria Union. The Pro Patria National Coali ...

People's Party of Republicans and Conservatives People's Party of Republicans and Conservatives (''Vabariiklaste ja Konservatiivide Rahvaerakond'') was an Estonian political party, which existed under this banner from 1994 to 1998. History It was founded in September 1994 after Pro Patria s ...

, and the

Estonian Coalition Party Estonian Coalition Party () was an Estonian centre-right liberal political party. Founded in 1991 by Tiit Vähi, it disbanded in 2002. The party was an observing member of Liberal International from 1998 on. It had contacts with parties like L ...

. After splitting from the latter, he created the New Estonia party, which he led from 2001 to 2003 before merging it into the

People's Union of Estonia People's, branded as ''People's ViennaLine'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austro-Swiss airline headquartered in Vienna, Austria. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St ...

. At the same year Nugis retired from politics. Nugis was a member of the 20 August Club which is an organization that is composed of the former members of the Supreme Council who had voted for the restoration of Estonian independence.

Personal life

Nugis and his wife, Vaike, had a son, Uno.

Death

Nugis died on 18 November 2011. The funeral at Charles' Church in Tallinn was attended by Estonian presidents

Toomas Hendrik Ilves Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016. Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the 1 ...

and

Arnold Rüütel Arnold Rüütel (, 10 May 1928 – 31 December 2024) was an Estonian politician. He was the third President of Estonia from 8 October 2001 to 9 October 2006. Rüütel was the second president of the country after the end of the 1944–1991 Sovie ...

, among others. The coffin was covered with the Estonian flag that had flown over

Pikk Hermann Pikk Hermann (Estonian ; ) is a tower of the Toompea Castle, on Toompea (Domberg) hill in Tallinn (Reval), the capital of Estonia. The first part of the tower was built in 1360–1370. It was rebuilt (height brought to ) in the 16th century. A s ...

on 20 August that year. Nugis was buried at Metsakalmistu cemetery.

Awards

Nugis was awarded

Order of the National Coat of Arms The Order of the National Coat of Arms (, ) was instituted by Konstantin Päts on 7 October 1936 to commemorate 24 February 1918, the day on which Estonian independence was declared. The Order of the National Coat of Arms is bestowed only on Est ...

4th class in 2001 and 2nd class in 2004, and memorial medal “10 years of restoration of the Defence Forces” in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nugis, Ulo 1944 births 2011 deaths Politicians from Tallinn Estonian engineers Voters of the Estonian restoration of Independence People of the Singing Revolution Tallinn University of Technology alumni Members of the Riigikogu, 1992–1995 Members of the Riigikogu, 1995–1999 Members of the Riigikogu, 1999–2003 Speakers of the Riigikogu Leaders of political parties in Estonia People's Party of Republicans and Conservatives politicians 21st-century Estonian politicians Burials at Metsakalmistu Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 4th Class Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 2nd Class