Ernst Jaakson (1905 - 1998), ERM Fk 2731-56

Ernst Rudolf Jaakson (11 August 1905,

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

(then

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

) – 4 September 1998,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States) was an

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 ...

n diplomat whose contribution was to maintain Estonia's legal continuity with his uninterrupted diplomatic service for 69 years.

Education

Jaakson studied economics at the

University of Latvia University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...

in Riga, and law at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

. He later graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

with a degree in economics.

Diplomatic career

In 1919, Jaakson began work in the

legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...

of the newly independent Estonia in Riga. In 1928, he started work in the Information Division of the Estonian

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. In 1929-1932, Jaakson worked as the secretary of the Estonian

honorary consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In 1932, he was assigned to the Estonian

Consulate General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

in New York. When the Soviet Union occupied Estonia in 1940 and again in 1944, the United States and other democratic nations invoked the

Stimson Doctrine The Stimson Doctrine is the policy of nonrecognition of states created as a result of a war of aggression. The policy was implemented by the United States government, enunciated in a note of January 7, 1932, to the Empire of Japan and the Republ ...

, did not recognize the legality of

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

of Estonia, and continued to recognize the diplomatic representatives of the Republic of Estonia. In 1965, when his predecessor,

Johannes Kaiv Johannes Kaiv (8 July 1897 – 21 November 1965) was an Estonian diplomat. A graduate in law from the University of Tartu, Kaiv studied at The Hague Academy of International Law. Between 1935 and 1939 he was the Honorary Consul in Sydney, Australia ...

, died, Jaakson became the consul in charge of the

. Thus, he was the chief diplomatic representative of Estonia in the United States until Estonia regained independence in 1991. In 1969, he issued a statement for Estonia to the

Apollo 11 goodwill messages The Apollo 11 goodwill messages are statements from leaders of 73 countries around the world on a disc about the size of a 50-cent piece made of silicon that was left on the Moon in 1969 by the Apollo 11 astronauts. The disc also carried names ...

. Throughout much of the 1980s, Jaakson, as the longest-serving foreign diplomatic representative to the United States, held the position of "unofficial" Dean of the

Diplomatic Corps The diplomatic corps (french: corps diplomatique) is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body. The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission ( am ...

. During the long years of the Soviet occupation when the

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

' representatives in the West were often the object of curiosity or humorous dismissal, Jaakson commanded near-universal respect, and he did so not peremptorily but by his personal authority. In 1991, Jaakson was appointed Estonia's ambassador to the United States and Estonia's permanent representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. From 1993, Jaakson continued his work as the Estonian

consul general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

in New York.

Autobiography

In 1995, Ernst Jaakson's autobiographical book ''Eestile'' (''For Estonia'') was published, which deals not only with his life, but also gives a very good overview of the diplomatic developments which took place over the years. He died in New York in 1998, at the age of 93. He worked in the Estonian

Foreign Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

for 79 years and served as a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

for 69 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaakson, Ernst 1905 births 1998 deaths Diplomats from Riga People from Kreis Riga Ambassadors of Estonia to the United States Permanent Representatives of Estonia to the United Nations Baltic diplomatic missions University of Tartu alumni University of Latvia alumni Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 1st Class Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 5th Class Columbia University alumni