Ülle Aaskivi (née Kiin; 5 December 1950 – 17 January 2007) was an Estonian lawyer, politician, and public official. Aaskivi was elected a member of the Estonian Supreme Soviet in 1990 and the

Estonian Constitutional Assembly Constitutional Assembly of Estonia () was the representative body whose goal was to create Constitution of Estonia (1992), new Constitution of the Republic of Estonia. The assembly was composed on 20 August 1991 by the members from Committee of Es ...

, as well as one of the ratifiers of the

Constitution of Estonia The Constitution of Estonia () is the fundamental law of the Republic of Estonia and establishes the state order as that of a democratic republic where the supreme power is vested in its citizens. The first Constitution was adopted by the free ...

who 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 Council of the Republic of Estonia, in agreement with the E ...

."Kolmapäeval suri valitsuse nõunik, suur väike naine Ülle Aaskivi"
EPL, 19 January 2007 She 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 chi ...

for the Social Democratic Party of Estonia.

Biography

Aaskivi was born on 5 December 1950 in

Viljandi Viljandi (, , , , ) is a Populated places in Estonia, town and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,255 in 2024. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major ...

as Ülle Kiin. Sirje Kiin ( :et) was her sister. She graduated from Viljandi 1st Secondary School in 1968 and from the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

Faculty of Law."Ülle Aaskivi: riigikogus toimuv on katastroof"
PM, 28.08.2006 She worked at the prosecutor's office and later as a government adviser. Aaskivi started her political career in

Viljandi County Viljandi County ( or ''Viljandimaa''; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in southern Estonia bordering Pärnu, Järva, Jõgeva, Tartu and Valga counties as well as Latvia. History Viljandimaa, under the German name of ''Krei ...

by organizing a local branch of the

Popular Front of Estonia The Popular Front of Estonia (; RR), introduced to the public by the Estonian politician Edgar Savisaar under the short-lived name Popular Front for the Support of Perestroika, was a political organisation in Estonia in the late 1980s and earl ...

and was elected to the Supreme Soviet of Estonia along with

Jaak Allik Jaak Allik (born 6 October 1946) is an Estonian theatre critic, theatre director and politician. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, and was previously the Estonian Minister of Culture 1995–1999 (). He was member of the VII, VIII a ...

, Uno Anton, and Jüri Rätsep. In 2002, on the tenth anniversary of the ratification of the

, a collection of articles, memoirs and documents, "Põhiseaduse tulek", was published by Aaskivi and Eve Pärnaste.

Term at the Riigikogu

Prior to the 2006 presidential election, the

Conservative People's Party of Estonia The Conservative People's Party of Estonia (, EKRE) is a Estonian nationalism, nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Estonia led by Martin Helme. It was founded in March 2012 with the merger of People's Union of Estonia and Est ...

(EKRE) and

Estonian Centre Party The Estonian Centre Party (, EK) is a populist political party in Estonia. It was founded in 1991 as a direct successor of the Popular Front of Estonia, and it is currently led by Mihhail Kõlvart. The party was founded on 12 October 1991 f ...

leaders mandated a ban on their party members from voting in the presidential election.Peeter Kuime
"Rahvaliit ja Keskerakond hääletamisel ei osale"
PM, 28.08.2006 Opinions on the decision were controversial: EKRE's chairman

Villu Reiljan Villu Reiljan (born 23 May 1953 in Võru) is a former Estonian politician. He has been member of VIII Riigikogu, VIII, IX Riigikogu, IX and X Riigikogu. From 1995 to 1999 and from 2003 to 2006, he was the Ministry of the Environment (Estonia), Mi ...

said that the decision was made on possible attempts to acquire money, while

Tõnis Lukas Tõnis Lukas (; born 5 June 1962) is an Estonian politician, former Minister of Culture from 2019 to 2021 and Minister of Education and Research from 1999 to 2002 and from 2007 to 2011. Early life and career Lukas was born in Tallinn, Estonia. A ...

, the co-chairman of

Pro Patria and Res Publica Union Isamaa () is a Christian democratic and national conservative political party in Estonia. It was founded on 4 June 2006 under the name of "Pro Patria and Res Publica Union", by the merger of two conservative parties, Pro Patria Union and Res ...

, expressed his opinion that the EKRE would undermine the free will of the MEPs.Peeter Kuime
"Reiljan: rahvaliitlasi võidakse ära osta"
PM, 28.08.2006 According to Aaskivi, this was an undemocratic step that she could not accept as a citizen.Aivar Reina
"Toomas Varek: Ülle Aaskivi käitus ülbelt ja ebameeldivalt"
PM, 28.08.2006 On 28 August 2006, at the session of the

, Aaskivi, after serving as a representative of the government, a presentation of the government's draft before the first extraordinary personal statement of the presidential election (which she said as a citizen of the Republic of Estonia and as a member of the 20 August Club"Ülle Aaskivi haukus demokraatia valvekoerana"
EPL, 29. august 2006), invited all members of the Riigikogu to participate in the presidential elections in the Riigikogu. She condemned the absence of the presidential election of EKRE and the Centre Party, and called on the ambassadors to serve the country of Estonia. There was a lot of reactions to the presentation by Aaskivi. According to then Speaker of the Riigikogu, Centre Party member Toomas Varek, Aaskivi abused her position. "It would have been correct if she would have asked for the permission of the Riigikogu to give prior permission and also showed her statement," Varek commented in an interview with ''

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 employees. ''P ...

''. "Without such a statement, I certainly would not have allowed it." On the other hand, Chancellor of Justice Allar Jõks found that "it was a sincere and courageous performance." Ain Seppik, head of the central faction of the Riigikogu, told ''

Eesti Päevaleht (Estonia Daily) is a major daily Estonian newspaper, from the same publishers as the weekly '' Eesti Ekspress''. Another newspaper under the same name is published weekly in Stockholm, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is ...

'': "She behaved very boldly and with inner conviction as a woman, and she had a reason to show her respect."

Death and legacy

Aaaskivi died on 17 January 2007 after a period of illness. In a short in memoriam post on ''

'' written after her death, former

President of Estonia The president of the Republic of Estonia () is the head of state of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid. Estonia is one of the few parliam ...

Toomas Hendrik Ilves Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016. Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the 1 ...

called her "a big little woman", remarking her influence during her time on the Riigikogu. She had three children: daughters Birgit and Signe, and son Urmas.

Awards

* 2002: 5th class of the Order of the National Coat of Arms (received 14 March 2002) * 2006: 3rd class of the Order of the National Coat of Arms (received 23 February 2006) * 2007: Open Estonia Foundation Compilation Award (2006, awarded posthumously) * 2007: Estonian Women's Co-operation Team Award"Ülle Aaskivi valiti Teenäitajaks"
PM, 11.01.2007

Writings and speeches

* "Põhiseaduse tulek". Written by Eve Pärnaste and Ülle Aaskivi (designer-consultant). Kirjastus SE & JS 2002, (binding),
"Ülle Aaskivi kõne Riigikogus 28. augustil 2006"
Jevgeni Krištafovitš

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aaskivi, Ulle 1950 births 2007 deaths Politicians from Viljandi Social Democratic Party (Estonia) politicians Members of the Congress of Estonia Members of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia Members of the Constitutional Assembly of Estonia Estonian jurists Women members of the Riigikogu 20th-century Estonian women politicians University of Tartu alumni Voters of the Estonian restoration of Independence Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 5th Class