The Estonian Labour Party ( et, Eesti Tööerakond, ETE) was a political party in

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 ...

. It was formed in 1919 by a merger of the Radical Socialist Party and the Social Travaillist Party, and ceased to exist in 1932, when it merged with other centrist parties to form the National Centre Party. It was a member of government coalitions between 1919 and 1925, and again from 1927 until 1931.Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, pp398–399

History

The ETE had its roots in the Estonian Radical Socialist Party and the Social Travaillist Party, both of which were founded in 1917. The two parties collaborated closely and were collectively known as the "Labourites".McHale, p383 Both parties won seats in the

Estonian Provincial Assembly The Estonian Provincial Assembly ( et, Eestimaa Kubermangu Ajutine Maanõukogu, (Ajutine) Maanõukogu, Eesti Maanõukogu, (Eesti) Maapäev) was elected after the February Revolution in 1917 as the national diet of the Autonomous Governorate of ...

elections later in the year, and together made up the second largest faction in the Assembly. In November 1917, the Labourites received 21% of the votes in the Russian Constituent Assembly elections. In late December 1917, after the partially successful

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

coup d'état in Estonia, Labourites were the first to publicly demand independence for Estonia.''XX sajandi kroonika, I osa''; Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn, 2002; p. 164 By the

1918 Estonian Constituent Assembly election Elections to the Estonian Constituent Assembly were held on 3–4 February 1918. In some electoral districts, the elections were postponed until 9–10 February. During the October revolution, the Bolsheviks also took power in parts of Estonia, ...

, their support had risen to 30.4%. After Estonia declared independence on 24 February 1918, the Labourites were part of the

Estonian Provisional Government The Estonian Provisional Government ( et, Eesti Ajutine Valitsus) was formed on 24 February 1918, by the Salvation Committee appointed by '' Maapäev'', the Estonian Province Assembly. History Konstantin Päts' first provisional cabinet The P ...

, as were all the parties, that supported Estonian independence. In March 1918, Labourite leader Jüri Vilms went missing in Finland, where he was presumably executed. He was replaced by

Otto Strandman Otto August Strandman ( – 5 February 1941) was an Estonian politician, who served as prime minister (1919) and State Elder of Estonia (1929–1931). He was one of the leaders of the centre-left Estonian Labour Party, that saw its biggest supp ...

, Piip,

Juhan Kukk Juhan (Johann) Kukk VR III/1 ( in Käru, Salla Parish (now in Väike-Maarja Parish), Wierland County, Governorate of Estonia – 4 December 1942 in Kargopol, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Soviet Union) was an Estonian politician. Kukk finished the Tartu ...

, Theodor Pool and Seljamaa.Luuakse Eesti Tööerakond
/ref> The two parties formally merged in 1919,McHale, p383 and won a quarter of the seats in the 1919 Constituent Assembly elections, with Strandman heading the government formed on 8 May 1919. The party went on to win the 1920 parliamentary elections with 22 of the 100 seats in the

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 Chief Jus ...

. It finished third in the 1923 elections, fourth in the

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

and 1929 elections. In January 1932 the party merged with the United Nationalists Party (an October 1931 merger of the

Estonian People's Party The Estonian People's Party ( et, Eesti Rahvaerakond, ER) was a centre-right political party in Estonia. History The party was established in March 1919 by a merger of the Estonian Democratic Party and the Estonian Radical Democratic Party.Vin ...

and the Christian People's Party) to form the National Centre Party.

Ideology

After its foundation, the Labour Party supported non-revolutionary social and agrarian reform. In the Constituent Assembly it was influential in composing the radical land reform and the 1920 constitution. Socialist during its early years, the party gradually moved towards the centre. It championed the separation of church and state. The party drew its support from artisans, civil servants, intellectuals, small landowners and the non-socialist working class.

Heads of Government

Ministers

References

{{Political parties in Estonia Political parties established in 1919 Defunct political parties in Estonia Labour parties 1919 establishments in Estonia Political parties disestablished in 1932 Socialist parties in Estonia Political parties of the Russian Revolution