Arvo Sarapuu (August 26, 1953 – March 17, 2020) was an Estonian businessman, politician, and member of the

Estonian Centre Party The Estonian Centre Party ( et, Eesti Keskerakond, EK) is a populist political party in Estonia. It was founded in 1991 as a direct successor of the Popular Front of Estonia, and it is currently led by Jüri Ratas. The party was founded on 12 Oc ...

. Sarapuu served as the first post-independence County Governor of

Järva County Järva County ( et, Järva maakond or ''Järvamaa''; german: Jerwen; la, Jervia) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the central part of the country and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Jõgeva County to the south-east, ...

from 1989 until 1997. He then served as the Deputy Mayor of

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, the capital of

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

, from April 2011 until his resignation on May 26, 2017, due to allegations of corruption. Arvo Sarapuu died on March 17, 2020, at the age of 66. He was survived by his wife, Kersti Sarapuu, who served as Mayor of

Paide Paide is a town in Estonia and the capital of Järva County, one of the 15 counties of Estonia. Etymology Paide's German name ''Weißenstein'' (originally ''Wittenstein'' or ''Wittensten'' in Low German) means "white stone". This name was de ...

from 2005 to 2011, and their five children. Sarapuu was buried in

Metsakalmistu Metsakalmistu (meaning ''Forest Cemetery'') is a cemetery in the Pirita district of Tallinn. Metsakalmistu was originally planned to be a public medieval cemetery. Eduard Vilde was the first to be buried in 1933. The original area of the cemete ...

cemetery in Tallinn.

Honors

Order of the National Coat of Arms The Order of the National Coat of Arms ( et, Riigivapi teenetemärk, french: Ordre du Blason National) was instituted by Konstantin Päts on 7 October 1936 to commemorate 24 February 1918, the day on which Estonian independence was declared. The ...

, 3rd class (2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarapuu, Arvo 1953 births 2020 deaths Estonian businesspeople Politicians from Tallinn Estonian Centre Party politicians Tallinn University of Technology alumni Politicians from Tartu Burials at Metsakalmistu 20th-century Estonian politicians Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class Members of the Riigikogu, 2007–2011 Members of the Riigikogu, 2015–2019