Jaak Allik (born 6 October 1946) is an Estonian theatre critic, theatre director and politician. He is a member of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

, and was previously the Estonian Minister of Culture 1995–1999 ( et, Eesti kultuuriminister). He was member of the VII, VIII and X

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 ...

Personal life

Jaak studied 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 ...

with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a major in sociology and history, later working as a lecturer in that same university. He worked as a theater director and designer in the 1980s, becoming the set designer for

Ugala Ugala is a theatre in Viljandi, Estonia. The theatre was founded in 1920 opening on January 10 of that year. The first production was Oscar Wilde's " Salome". Ugala's Artistic Directors *1925 - 1926: Andres Särev *1926 – 1928: Eduard Le ...

. As Jaak had been a part of the

Estonian Communist Party The Communist Party of Estonia ( et, Eestimaa Kommunistlik Partei, abbreviated EKP) was a subdivision of the Soviet communist party which in 1920-1940 operated illegally in Estonia and, after the 1940 occupation and annexation of Estonia by the ...

since 1971 (and, ultimately, the

CPSU "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

), he became part of groups such as the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ...

and involved with notable Estonian communists such as Mikk Titma and

Indrek Toome Indrek Toome (born 19 September 1943) is a former communist Estonian politician and businessman. He served from 1988 to 1990, and was the last Prime Minister (head of the Council of Ministers) of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. Early li ...

. After an independent Estonia Jaak was mainly a theater director and theater critic but still remained in politics. Jaak Allik's parents were Communist politicians Hendrik Allik and Olga Lauristin during the 1940s. His maternal half-sister is sociologist and politician

Marju Lauristin Marju Lauristin (born 7 April 1940) is an Estonian politician, and former Member of the European Parliament and Minister of Social Affairs. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party, part of the Party of European Socialists. Lauristin is cu ...

. His son, Mihkel Allik, has been an advisor to the

Chancellor of Justice The Chancellor of Justice is a government official found in some northern European countries, broadly responsible for supervising the lawfulness of government actions. History In 1713, the Swedish King Charles XII, preoccupied with fighting the ...

. His cousin is architect

Vilen Künnapu Vilen Künnapu (born 30 June 1948) is one of the most important Estonian architects of the last three decades, among the first postmodernist theoreticians and architects in the 1970s. He has worked on various buildings in Estonia and abroad.

Awards

* Merited Artist of the ESSR (1986) *

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 ...

, 4th Class (2002) * Order of the City of

Viljandi Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu ...

(2003)

References

1946 births Living people Social Democratic Party (Estonia) politicians University of Tartu alumni Members of the Riigikogu, 1995–1999 Members of the Riigikogu, 2003–2007 Members of the Riigikogu, 2011–2015 20th-century Estonian politicians 21st-century Estonian politicians Estonian theatre directors Politicians from Tallinn Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class Estonian critics {{Estonia-bio-stub