Harald Tammer (9 January 1899 – 6 June 1942) 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 ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

and

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

. As a heavyweight weightlifter he won a world title in 1922 and a bronze medal at the 1924 Olympics. As an athlete he competed in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

at the

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

and

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

Olympics and came sixth and twelfth, respectively. He served as the Olympic flag bearer for Estonia in 1920, and as a representative of the Estonian Olympic team in 1928 and 1936.

Career

In 1915 Tammer graduated from Tallinn Commerce School and joined the Sports Association Kalev. Next year he placed within the podium at the Russian championships in shot put, discus throw and hammer throw. Soon after that he volunteered to fight in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westwa ...

as member of the

Estonian Defence League The Estonian Defence League ( et, Eesti Kaitseliit) is the name of the unified paramilitary armed forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Defence League is a paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, ...

s in Tallinn. After demobilization, from 1921 to 1928 he edited the Estonian sports newspaper '' Eesti Spordileht'', and in 1923–33 was a journalist and in 1933–1940

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''

Eesti Päevaleht ''Eesti Päevaleht'' ''("Estonia Daily")'' is a major daily Estonian newspaper, from the same publishers as the weekly '' Eesti Ekspress''. It has a daily circulation of around 36,000. History and profile ''Eesti Päevaleht'' was founded on 5 Ju ...

''. In 1928–40 he was a board member of Estonian Journalists Union, and in 1934–35 headed the Baltic Journalists Union. Tammer studied law and diplomacy at the

École Libre des Sciences Politiques , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1931–33. He was also a board member of the Estonian National Olympic Committee in 1933–40, and of the Estonian Parliament in 1937–40. In 1940 he briefly worked as editor of the magazine ''Revue Baltique''. Next year he was accused of spying for the

Estonian Defence Forces The Estonian Defence Forces ( et, Eesti Kaitsevägi) are the unified military forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consist of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary Esto ...

and deported to Russia. He died in 1942 in a

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

prison camp near Sukhobezvodnoye station in

Semyonovsky District Semyonov (russian: Семёнов) is a town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, notable for being a major center for traditional handcrafts such as Khokhloma wood painting and matryoshka dolls. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 2 ...

Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (russian: link=no, Нижегородская область, ''Nizhegorodskaya oblast''), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localiti ...

Awards

* 21 February 1940

Order of the Estonian Red Cross The Order of the Estonian Red Cross ( et, Eesti Punase Risti teenetemärk; french: Ordre de la Croix-Rouge Estonienne) was instituted in 1920 by the Estonian Red Cross Society. The Order of the Estonian Red Cross is bestowed in order to give rec ...

II class ( et: ''Eesti Punase Risti Teenetemärk II klass'') * 18 June 1936

II class I ( et:''Eesti Punase Risti mälestusmärk II järgu I aste'') *1924

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, lv, Lāčplēša Kara ordenis), the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of Jānis Balodis, the Commander of the Latvian Army during ...

nr.3/1816Lāčplēša kaŗa ordeņa kavalieŗi: biogrāfija Tammer, Harald
Lāčplēša kaŗa ordeņa kavalieŗi

References

External links

Short biography – Members of Tallinn Rotary Club 1930–40
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tammer, Harald 1899 births 1942 deaths Sportspeople from Tallinn People from the Governorate of Estonia Members of the Estonian National Assembly Estonian journalists 20th-century Estonian lawyers Estonian male weightlifters Estonian male shot putters Estonian male discus throwers Estonian male hammer throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Estonia Olympic weightlifters of Estonia Olympic bronze medalists for Estonia Olympic medalists in weightlifting Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Estonian people who died in Soviet detention People who died in the Gulag World Weightlifting Championships medalists 20th-century journalists