Vaino Väljas (; born 28 March 1931 in Külaküla,

Hiiumaa Hiiumaa (, ) is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within H ...

) is a former

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, ...

and

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 politician. He was the Chairman of the 6th Supreme Soviet of the

Estonian SSR The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...

from 18 April 1963 to 19 March 1967, first secretary of communist party of

Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...

from 16 June 1988 to April 1990 and chairman of the party from April 1990 to August 1991.

Biography

Early life

He was born on 28 March 1931 on the island of

in Estonia. After Estonia was annexed by the Soviet Union, Väljas became a member of the

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

in 1952. In 1955, he graduated from Tartu State University (TSU).

Career

In 1949, he began working at the

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...

. From 1955 to 1961 he held the office of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the ELKNÜ. From 1961 to 1971, Väljas was First Secretary of the Tallinn City Committee of the

Communist Party of Estonia 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 ...

. From 1971 to 1980, he was Secretary of the Central Committee of the EKP. Since Väljas was considered to have Estonian

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

inclinations, he was removed from Estonia and appointed as the Soviet ambassador to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

in 1980 and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

in 1986.

Leader of Soviet Estonia

As the Estonian independence movement gained momentum in 1988, the relatively liberal Väljas was recalled from Nicaragua and was appointed by

Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Comm ...

as leader of the

. The Communist party lost its monopoly of power in February 1990. Väljas later voted for the

Estonian Restoration of Independence Estonian Restoration of Independence, legally defined as the Restoration of the Republic of Estonia, was proclaimed on 20 August 1991. On that day at 23:02 local time, the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, Supreme Counci ...

in August 1991.

Post-independence

Väljas was the leader of the former

Communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

, renamed the Democratic Estonian Workers Party, until 1995.

Awards

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

(1965) * 3 Orders of the Red Banner of Labour (1958, 1971, and 1973) *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...

(1981) *

Order of the National Coat of Arms The Order of the National Coat of Arms ( et, Riigivapi teenetemärk, french: Ordre du Blason National) was instituted by Konstantin Päts on 7 October 1936 to commemorate 24 February 1918, the day on which Estonian independence was declared. The ...

(2002) *

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 ...

(2006) *

Aadu Luukas Aadu Luukas (24 September 1939, in Tallinn – 7 October 2006, in Viimsi) 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 acr ...

Mission Award (2017) * Tallinn Coat of Arms (2021) *

Order of the Liberator The Order of the Liberator was the highest distinction of Venezuela and was appointed for services to the country, outstanding merit and benefits made to the community. For Venezuelans the order ranks first in the order of precedence from other or ...

(

, 1986)

References

1931 births Living people People from Hiiumaa Parish Heads of the Communist Party of Estonia Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1971–1975 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1975–1980 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1980–1985 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1985–1990 Voters of the Estonian restoration of Independence Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Eighth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Nicaragua Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Venezuela University of Tartu alumni Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 2nd Class {{Estonia-politician-stub