Tiit Toomsalu (born 21 November 1949) is an Estonian politician who was the leader of the

Estonian Left Party Estonian Left Party (, EVP) was a leftist socialist political party in Estonia. History *1990: Registration of the independent Estonian Communist Party (EKP). *1992: Congress of EKP renamed Estonian Democratic Labour Party (EDTP). *July 1995: E ...

from 1996 to 2004. In 1968 he graduated from Tallinn Secondary School No. 2 (now the Tallinn Secondary School of Science). In 1974, he graduated 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 ...

with a degree in law. From 1999 to 2003, he was a member 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 ...

as part of the

Estonian United People's Party The Constitution Party (''Konstitutsioonierakond''), known until 11 February 2006 as the Estonian United People's Party (''Eestimaa Ühendatud Rahvapartei''), was a political party in Estonia, mainly supported by the Russian minority. For the ...

. From 1996 to 2004, he was chairman of the

(now merged into the

Estonian United Left Party The Estonian United Left Party ( et, Eestimaa Ühendatud Vasakpartei, russian: Объединённая левая партия Эстонии, ) is a political party in Estonia representing the Russian minority in Estonia. It is a member of th ...

). Toomsalu was considered one of the more prominent left-wing politicians in Estonia after independence while active in political office. During his time in the Riigikogu, where he was a member of the Constitutional law committee, he was infamous for his prolonged questions speeches and numerous proposed amendments to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

. In direct response to Toomsalu, the Riigikogu passed a regulation that excluded any amendments and initiatives if it was supported by only one member of the Riigikogu. He was also against joining

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. According to a commercial register, he had been a member of the party since 1991. In 2010, the party was liquidated by decision of the board, due to its merger with the Constitution Party to form the

. Toomsalu is married and has two children.

References

1949 births Living people Members of the Riigikogu, 1999–2003 University of Tartu alumni 20th-century Estonian politicians 21st-century Estonian politicians {{Estonia-politician-stub