Juhan Luiga (31 March 1873 – 19 October 1927) 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 psychiatrist, physician, author, publicist, and politician. He was a member of I Riigikogu.

Career

Juhan Luiga was born in

Ropka Ropka is a neighbourhood of Tartu, 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 ...

in 1873. He attended primary and secondary schools in Tartu. In 1899, he graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of 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 ...

. In 1904, he became one of the first Estonian psychiatrists,

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

. From 1899 until 1908, he worked as an assistant at the Nervous and Mental Diseases Clinic of the University of Tartu. From 1908 until 1927, he worked in private practice in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

, as well as a city and school physician. During World War I, he worked as a military doctor. From 1917–1918, he was in Finland, as the chief marshal of the liaison detachment of the Estonian division. In 1918, he was also the chief marshal in the

Estonian Army The Estonian Land Forces ( et, Maavägi), unofficially referred to as the Estonian Army, is the name of the unified ground forces among the Estonian Defense Forces where it has an offensive military formation role. It is currently the largest ...

for a period of several months. Luiga participated as a volunteer in 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 westw ...

as a military physician. In 1919 he was elected dean of the University of Tartu's Faculty of Medicine, but refused to accept the position. Luiga was elected as a member of the first composition of 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 Just ...

, representing the

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

. From 1921 until 1927, he was the chairman of the Union of Estonian Medical Associations. Luiga was also among the founders of magazine ''Eesti Arst'' and a founder of the Estonian Health Care Museum. During his career, he published writings on psychiatry, religious psychology of the

Finno-Ugric peoples The Finno-Ugric countries are the three independent nation states with a national majority that speaks a Finno-Ugric language: Finland and Estonia, which are inhabited by Baltic Finnic peoples, and Hungary, which is majority Magyar. The three count ...

, ancient Estonian religion, Estonian history, and modern politics.

Personal life and death

In 1913, Luiga married actress and stage director Erna Villmer. The couple had no children and divorced in 1923. Juhan Luiga died of a stroke in Tallinn in 1927, aged 54, and was interred at Raadi cemetery in Tartu. His granite headstone was designed by artist

Jaan Koort Jaan Koort (6 November 1883, Sootaga Parish (Äksi), Tartu – 14 October 1935 in Moscow) was an Estonian sculptor, painter and ceramicist. Born on 6 November in Tartu, he was the thirteenth child of village farmers Susanna-Marie and Jaan Koo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luiga, Juhan 1873 births 1927 deaths Estonian psychiatrists Members of the Riigikogu, 1920–1923 Estonian Labour Party politicians Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence University of Tartu alumni People from Tartu Politicians from Tartu Burials at Raadi cemetery