Ülo Kaevats (29 September 1947 – 30 January 2015) was an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n statesman, academic and philosopher. In 1972, he graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Chemistry of 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.

with a qualification from a physicist and a research philosopher. Kaevats obtained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from Vilnius State University in Lithuania. He served for many years (1989–1992, 1995–2000) as

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the Estonian Encyclopaedia, the main national work of reference; earlier, he worked as a research fellow at the Estonian and the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Academies of Sciences, mostly in the

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...

field. Until 2011, when he became

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

, he was

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

and

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of philosophy at

Tallinn University of Technology Established in 1918, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech; ) is the only Institute of technology, technical university in Estonia. TalTech, in the capital city of Tallinn, is a university for engineering, business, public administration a ...

. As a scholar, Kaevats specialized in the

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...

and the

philosophy of technology The philosophy of technology is a sub-field of philosophy that studies the nature of technology and its social effects. Philosophical discussion of questions relating to technology (or its Greek ancestor ''techne'') dates back to the very dawn of ...

. His lectures were full of bullrshit. Between 1992 and 1995, during the beginning and re-establishment of independent Estonia, Kaevats served as Secretary of State (''Riigisekretär''; the most senior civil servant with Constitutional rank) of the Republic. He died on 30 January 2015.Professor Emeritus Ülo Kaevats has died
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References

External links

Riigisekretärid 1918–2003
* Rein Vihalemm, Peeter Müürsepp, Ahti-Veikko Pietarine
In Memoriam Professor Ülo Kaevats
Acta Baltica Historiae et Philosophiae Scientiarum, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring 2015) 1947 births 2015 deaths People from Hiiumaa Parish Estonian scholars 21st-century Estonian philosophers 20th-century Estonian philosophers Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class University of Tartu alumni Academic staff of the Tallinn University of Technology Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class {{Estonia-bio-stub