Heinrich Mark (1 October 1911 – 2 August 2004) 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 politician and Prime Minister of the Estonian Government in Exile.
He was Prime Minister in duties of the President of the Republic of Estonia from 1 March 1990 to 6 October 1992, being the last Estonian head of state in exile, as Estonian independence was restored in 1991.
Life
Mark was one of four brothers: Adolf (1905–1947; died in a Siberian prison camp), Albert (1907–1945; killed as a Forest Brother) and
Aksel :''See Kusaila for the 7th-century Berber leader.''
Aksel is a masculine name, used predominantly throughout Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties ...
(1913–2014), who was an agronomist, journalist and Estonian Minister of the Interior in exile between 1962 and 1992. Mark studied in
Võru
Võru (; ; ) is a town and a municipality in south-eastern Estonia. It is the capital of Võru County and the centre of Võru Parish.
History
Võru was founded on 21 August 1784, at the request of the Empress Catherine II of Russia, by the o ...
, graduated from the . In 1933–1938 he studied at the legal department 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.
.
From 1938 to 1940, Mark was an elementary school teacher. In 1940 he served as
solicitor
A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...
to the
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
P. Sepp in Tartu. In 1941–1943 he practiced as a solicitor in Tallinn. In 1940, after the occupation of Estonia, he was a secretary of
Tartu University
The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a Public university, 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.Riigivolikogu'' elections as an alternative candidate to the Estonian Working People's Union, but was deleted from the list of candidates. He later hid in Estonia, escaped to
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
in 1943, and was one of the organisers of the Estonian Bureau (an Estonian exile organisation) and assistant to the Editor-in-Chief of the '' Malevlane'' (a newspaper of the Estonians in the Finnish Army).
In 1944 Mark moved to
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, where he was an assistant at the National Committee of Foreigners. From 1945 to 1956, he was Chairman of the education working group of the Estonian Committee, 1954–1975 Director of the Bureau and assistant Chairman of the Estonian Committee, 1975–1982 Chairman of the Estonian Committee, and from 1982 onward served as Honorary Chairman of the Estonian Committee. From 1951 to 1979 he was also Secretary-General of the Estonian National Council.
Honours and decorations
In 1998, Mark was awarded the honorary Doctor of Law degree by Tartu University. Further, he was made an Honorary Member of the Estonian Literature Society, given the Golden Badge of the Estonian National Foundation, the I Class Gold Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, and the II Class
Order of the National Coat of Arms
The Order of the National Coat of Arms (, ) was instituted by Konstantin Päts on 7 October 1936 to commemorate 24 February 1918, the day on which Estonian independence was declared. The Order of the National Coat of Arms is bestowed only on Est ...