Jüri Uluots (13 January 1890 – 9 January 1945) 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 prime minister, journalist, prominent attorney and distinguished Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law at 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 ...

Early life

Uluots was born in

Kirbla Kirbla (german: Kirrefer) is a village in Lääneranna Parish, Pärnu County, in western 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 o ...

Parish (now

Lääneranna Parish Lääneranna Parish ( et, Lääneranna vald) is a rural municipality (Estonia), rural municipality in Pärnu County. It includes the town of Lihula.https://www.laanerannavald.ee/ (accessed 7 March 2020) Settlements ;Town Lihula ;Boroughs Virtsu ...

), in the Wiek County of the

Governorate of Estonia The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Governorate of Esthonia (Pre-reformed rus, Эстля́ндская губе́рнія, r=Estlyandskaya guberniya); et, Eestimaa kubermang was a governorate in the Baltic region, along with th ...

in 1890 and studied law at

St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the ...

in 1910–1918. He subsequently taught

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

and Estonian law at the University of Tartu until 1944. Uluots was also an editor of the '' Kaja'' newspaper 1919–1920, and editor-in-chief of ''

Postimees ''Postimees'' () is an Estonian daily newspaper established on 5 June 1857, by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. In 1891, it became the first daily newspaper in Estonia. Its current editor-in-chief is Priit Hõbemägi. The paper has approximately 250 ...

'' 1937–1938.

Political career

Uluots was elected to 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 ...

, the Estonian parliament, for 1920–1926, and from 1929 through 1932. He was speaker of the

Riigivolikogu 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 ...

(

lower chamber A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or othe ...

) from 4 April 1938 to 12 October 1939. Uluots then served as prime minister from 1939 until June 1940 when Soviet troops entered Estonia and installed a new

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

puppet government A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sovere ...

led by

Johannes Vares Johannes Vares (pen name Barbarus or Vares-Barbarus – 29 November 1946) was an Estonian and Soviet poet, medical doctor, and politician. Vares was born in a farmer family in the village of Kiisa, near Viljandi, Estonia. He received secondary ...

, whereas Uluots' constitutional government went underground (and later, in

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

). The communist puppet government was never recognized by the United States, United Kingdom and other western powers who considered it and the August 1940 annexation of Estonia into the USSR illegal. After the Estonian President

Konstantin Päts Konstantin Päts (; – 18 January 1956) was an Estonian statesman and the country's president in 1938–1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades pri ...

was arrested by Soviet occupation forces and deported to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

in July 1940, Professor Uluots became ''prime minister in the duties of the president'' as dictated by the Estonian constitution. When the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s invaded Soviet-occupied Estonia in 1941 the communist government was overthrown. Ulouts refused German offers to head the

Estonian Self-Administration Estonian Self-Administration ( et, Eesti Omavalitsus, german: Estnische Selbstverwaltung), also known as the ''Directorate'', was the puppet government set up in Estonia during the occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany. It was headed by Hjalmar M ...

in 1941 and instead formed part of the underground Estonian resistance to the Nazi occupation regime. In January 1944, the front was pushed back by the Soviet Army almost all the way to the former Estonian border.

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...

was evacuated. Jüri Uluots delivered a radio address that implored all able-bodied men born from 1904 through 1923 to report for German military service (Before this, Uluots had opposed Estonian mobilization.) The call drew support from all across the country: 38,000 draftees appeared at German registration centers. Several thousand Estonians who had joined the Finnish army came back across the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

to join the newly formed Territorial Defense Force, assigned to defend Estonia against the Soviet advance. It was hoped that by engaging in such a war Estonia would be able to attract Western support for the cause of Estonia's independence from the USSR and thus ultimately succeed in achieving independence. In March 1944 the

National Committee of the Republic of Estonia The National Committee of the Republic of Estonia (, EVRK) was a deliberative and legislative body, formed by the government of Republic of Estonia (the last government of Estonia before the Soviet occupation) to control the resistance movement in ...

was formed by the underground resistance movement in German-occupied Estonia. By April 1944 a large number of the committee members were arrested by the German security agencies. The Committee aimed to establish of a provisional government during expected German withdrawal as the Red Army had reached the border of Estonia on 2 February 1944. On 20 April 1944, the National Committee selected the Electoral Committee of the Republic of Estonia. The Committee determined that the Soviet-era appointment of

as Prime Minister by Konstantin Päts had been illegal and that Uluots had assumed the President's duties from 21 June 1940 onwards. On 21 June 1944, Jüri Uluots appointed

Otto Tief Otto Tief ( – 5 March 1976) was an Estonian politician, military commander (during the Estonian War of Independence), and a lawyer. Tief was the acting prime minister of the last government of Estonia

as deputy prime minister.Chronology
at the EIHC As the Germans retreated in September 1944, Uluots appointed a new government, headed by

. On 20 September, the Estonian national government was proclaimed. Estonian forces seized the government buildings in

Toompea Toompea (from german: Domberg, "Cathedral Hill") is a limestone hill in the central part of the city of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The hill is an oblong tableland, which measures about 400 by 250 metres, has an area of and is about 20–30 ...

and ordered the German forces to leave. Tief's government left Tallinn prior to the

Soviet army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

's arrival and went into hiding. But most of the cabinet members were later arrested and suffered various repressions by the Soviet authorities, or were sent to labour camps in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

. The remainder of the government fled to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden, where it operated in exile from 1944 to 1992 when

Heinrich Mark Heinrich Mark (1 October 1911 – 2 August 2004) was an Estonian politician and Prime Minister of the Estonian Government in Exile. He was Prime Minister in duties of the President of the Republic of Estonia from 1 March 1990 to 6 October 1992, ...

, who was prime minister in duties of the president, presented his credentials to incoming president

Lennart Meri Lennart Georg Meri (; 29 March 1929 – 14 March 2006) was an Estonian politician, writer, and film director. He served as the second president of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Meri was among the leaders of the movement to restore Estonian independ ...

. After 4-days short for his 55th birthday, Uluots died of

gastric cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

shortly after arriving in Sweden in 1945.http://www.estonica.org/en/Uluots,_J%C3%BCri/

Awards

1938 –

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star ( et, Valgetähe teenetemärk; french: Ordre de l'Etoile Blanche) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic ...

References

*Mälksoo, Lauri (2000)
Professor Uluots, the Estonian Government in Exile and the Continuity of the Republic of Estonia in International Law
''Nordic Journal of International Law'' 69.3, 289–316.
Article about Otto Tief's government from the official site of the Estonian Embassy in Moscow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uluots, Juri 1890 births 1945 deaths People from Lääneranna Parish People from Kreis Wiek Farmers' Assemblies politicians Patriotic League (Estonia) politicians Prime Ministers of Estonia Members of the Estonian Constituent Assembly Members of the Riigikogu, 1920–1923 Members of the Riigikogu, 1923–1926 Members of the Riigikogu, 1929–1932 Members of the Estonian National Assembly Members of the Riigivolikogu Estonian people of World War II Estonian anti-communists Saint Petersburg State University alumni University of Tartu faculty Members of the Estonian Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class Estonian World War II refugees Estonian emigrants to Sweden Deaths from stomach cancer Deaths from cancer in Sweden