Marie Reisik (born Marie Tamman; 6 February 1887 in

Kilingi-Nõmme Kilingi-Nõmme is a town in Pärnu County, southwestern Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saarde Parish. It's located on the intersection of Valga– Uulu (Valga–Pärnu, nr 6) and Tartu–Viljandi–Kilingi-Nõmme (nr 92) roads, abou ...

, died 3 August 1941 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 ' ...

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 ...

), an Estonian teacher, women rights activist and politician.

Biography

Marie Reisik was born 6 February 1887 in

to Tõnu and Liisa Tamman. She attended school in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet o ...

, yet as women in Estonia could not enter the university at that time, Reisik studied in

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 ...

and became a teacher of French. She was one of the founder of the first women's organisation in Estonia in 1907, the ''

Tartu Eesti Naesterahva Selts Tartu Eesti Naesterahva Selts (Tartu Women's Society) was an Estonian organisation for women's rights, founded in 1907 in Tartu. It was the first women's rights organization in Estonia and in the Baltic states, and the only one prior to 1917. As ...

'', and she founded the first political journal for women, “Naisterahva Töö ja Elu” (“Women’s Work and Life”) which united educated women of Estonia. Her work contributed to organizing the first Estonian Women Congress ( et, Eestimaa Naiste Kongress) (1917) which helped to found Estonian Women's Union (1920). She initiated the emancipation movements across the country and became an active politician. In 1919, she was elected to the

Estonian Constituent Assembly The Estonian Constituent Assembly ( et, Asutav Kogu) was elected on 5–7 April 1919, called by the Estonian Provisional Government during the Estonian War of Independence. Estonian Constituent Assembly elections Activity The 120 members of t ...

and she was the only member of the parliament. In 1941, she was wanted by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

. Marie Reisik died on 3 August 1941 in Tallinn Central Hospital and is buried in Liiva Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reisik, Marie 1887 births 1941 deaths People from Kilingi-Nõmme People from Kreis Pernau Estonian People's Party politicians National Centre Party (Estonia) politicians Members of the Estonian Constituent Assembly Members of the Riigikogu, 1929–1932 Members of the Riigikogu, 1932–1934 20th-century Estonian women politicians Estonian women in politics Estonian feminists Burials at Liiva Cemetery