The Estonian Land Reform Act 1991 (

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

: 1991. Eesti maareform) was passed 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 ...

on the 17 October and came into force on the 1 November shortly after the restoration of independence in 1991. The act involved the transfer of land from state to private ownership in accordance with the historic property rights of landowners before the 1940

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...

Introduction

In October 1991, shortly after Estonia received its independence from the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, the

Estonian parliament 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 ...

approved the 'Law on Land Reform'. This law regulated the transfer of land from state ownership to private owners. The main principles of this process were the restitution of property rights of landowners before the 1940 Soviet occupation, and the protection of the legal rights of the present users of land. The aim of the act was to reintroduce a market economy for land, which under Soviet occupation had been nationalised, and to encourage more effective land use. The law envisaged that a wide number of heirs of the former owner would be eligible to submit a claim for land. The law also fixed compensation for the full amount of land at June 1940 values.

Results

As of early 2015 the land reform has been successfully completed on 96% of Estonian territory.

References

{{reflist, 2 Land reform 1991 in Estonia Economic history of Estonia Agriculture in Estonia