Juhan Luiga (31 March 1873 – 19 October 1927) 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 psychiatrist, physician, author, publicist, and politician. He was a member of

I Riigikogu I Riigikogu was the first legislature of the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu). The legislature was elected after 1920 elections (held on 27–29 November 1920). It sat between 20 December 1920 and 30 May 1923, before the next round of elections w ...

Career

Juhan Luiga was born in

Ropka Ropka is a neighbourhood of Tartu, 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 ...

in 1873. He attended primary and secondary schools in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

. In 1899, he graduated from the Faculty of Medicine 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.

. In 1904, he became one of the first Estonian psychiatrists,

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

. From 1899 until 1908, he worked as an assistant at the Nervous and Mental Diseases Clinic of the University of Tartu. From 1908 until 1927, he worked in private practice in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, as well as a school and

city physician City physician (German language, German: ; , , from Latin ) was a historical title in the Late Middle Ages for a physician appointed by the city council. The city physician was responsible for the health of the population, particularly the poor, ...

. During World War I, he worked as a military doctor. From 1917–1918, he was in Finland, as the chief marshal of the liaison detachment of the Estonian division. In 1918, he was also the chief marshal in the

Estonian Army The Estonian Land Forces (), unofficially referred to as the Estonian Army, is the name of the unified ground forces among the Estonian Defense Forces where it has an offensive military formation role. The Estonian Land Forces is currently the ...

for a period of several months. Luiga participated as a volunteer in the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

as a military physician. In 1919 he was elected dean of the University of Tartu's Faculty of Medicine, but refused to accept the position. Luiga was elected as a member of the first composition 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 chi ...

, representing the

Estonian Labour Party The Estonian Labour Party (, ETE) was a political party in Estonia. It was formed in 1919 by a merger of the Radical Socialist Party and the Social Travaillist Party, and ceased to exist in 1932, when it merged with other centrist parties to form ...

. From 1921 until 1927, he was the chairman of the Union of Estonian Medical Associations. Luiga was also among the founders of magazine ''Eesti Arst'' and a founder of the Estonian Health Care Museum. During his career, he published writings on psychiatry, religious psychology of the Finno-Ugric peoples, ancient Estonian religion, Estonian history, and modern politics.

Personal life and death

In 1913, Luiga married actress and stage director Erna Villmer. The couple had no children and divorced in 1923. Juhan Luiga died of a stroke in Tallinn in 1927, aged 54, and was interred at Raadi cemetery in Tartu. His granite headstone was designed by artist

Jaan Koort Jaan Koort (6 November 1883, Sootaga Parish ( Äksi), Tartu – 14 October 1935 in Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luiga, Juhan 1873 births 1927 deaths Politicians from Tartu People from Kreis Dorpat Estonian Labour Party politicians Members of the Riigikogu, 1920–1923 Estonian psychiatrists University of Tartu alumni Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Burials at Raadi cemetery