Johannes Kaiv (8 July 1897 – 21 November 1965) 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. A graduate in law from 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 ...

, Kaiv studied at

The Hague Academy of International Law The Hague Academy of International Law (french: Académie de droit international de La Haye) is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taugh ...

. Between 1935 and 1939 he was the Honorary Consul in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In the years 1939 to 1965, he served the

Estonian government-in-exile The Estonian government-in-exile was the formally declared governmental authority of the Republic of Estonia in exile, existing from 1944 until the reestablishment of Estonian sovereignty over Estonian territory in 1991 and 1992. It traced its l ...

as the acting Consul General of Estonia in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, since 1940 in charge of Legation. In 1965

Ernst Jaakson Ernst Rudolf Jaakson (11 August 1905, Riga, Livonia (then Russian Empire) – 4 September 1998, New York, United States) was an Estonian diplomat whose contribution was to maintain Estonia's legal continuity with his uninterrupted diplomatic servi ...

succeeded him. A veteran of the

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 ...

, Kaiv was awarded the

Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle The Order of the Cross of the Eagle ( et, Kotkaristi teenetemärk; french: Ordre de la Croix de l'Aigle) was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a st ...

, 3rd Class, in 1935. On 21 November 1965, Kaiv died following a heart attack and was buried in the

Kensico Cemetery Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York was founded in 1889, when many New York City cemeteries were becoming full, and rural cemeteries were being created near the railroads that served the city. Initially , it was ...

in New York. His wife, Salme (1914–1999), was later buried beside him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiv, Johannes 1897 births 1965 deaths Estonian diplomats Ambassadors of Estonia to the United States Baltic diplomatic missions The Hague Academy of International Law people University of Tartu alumni Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle, Class III Burials at Kensico Cemetery