Otto Strandman

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Otto Strandman
Otto Strandman c. 1929–1930
10th State Elder of Estonia
In office
9 July 1929 – 12 February 1931
Preceded byAugust Rei
Succeeded byKonstantin Päts
1st Prime Minister of Estonia
In office
9 May 1919 – 18 November 1919
Preceded byKonstantin Päts
as Prime Minister of the Provisional Government
Succeeded byJaan Tõnisson
Personal details
Born
Otto August Strandman

(1875-11-30)30 November 1875
Kreis Wierland, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire
Died5 February 1941(1941-02-05) (aged 65)
Kadrina, Estonia
Political partyEstonian Radical Socialist Party (1917)
Estonian Labour Party (1917–1932)
National Centre Party (1932–1935)
Independent (1935–1941)
SpouseLydia Strandman (née Hindrikson)
Alma materUniversity of Tartu
Saint Petersburg Imperial University
ProfessionLawyer, politician, diplomat

Otto August Strandman (Estonian pronunciation: [ˈoto ˈɑugust ˈstrɑnd.man]; 30 November [O.S. 18 November] 1875[1] – 5 February 1941) was an Estonian politician, who served as Prime Minister (1919) and State Elder of Estonia (1929–1931).

Strandman was one of the leaders of the centre-left

Minister of War (1919). While he was holding the office of the Minister of Finance, he stabilized the economy and managed to avoid hyperinflation. Strandman served as the speaker of the Estonian Provincial Assembly in 1917–1918, and as speaker of the newly independent country's parliament (Riigikogu) in 1921. He was also a diplomat, serving as the Estonian envoy in Warsaw, Poland (1927–1929), and in Paris, France
(1933–1939).

After the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Estonia and the other Baltic states in June 1940, Strandman committed suicide in February 1941, after being called to appear at the local headquarters of the NKVD.

Early life

Strandman was born in the village of Vandu, Undla Parish (now Kadrina Parish). His father, Hans Strandman, was a schoolteacher, and Otto was his third child.[2]

Strandman was first educated by his father, until he began his studies at the municipal school of Rakvere in 1886, and later at Emperor Alexander State High School in Tallinn and the 5th and the 7th High School in Saint Petersburg. He graduated as an extern in 1896 after his exams in the Estonian Governorate High School of Tallinn.[3]

After graduation, Strandman served as an official at the Tallinn Office of the State Bank of the Russian Empire until he went on to study law at the University of Tartu in 1899. In 1901 he continued his studies at the Saint Petersburg Imperial University|, graduating in 1903.[4]

Career

Early career

After graduating, Strandman worked as a lawyer in Narva and Tallinn. He became known for his eloquence and was elected to be a member of Tallinn city council from 1904 to 1905. As a lawyer, he defended Estonians against Baltic Germans and state officials.[2]

Strandman was also active in Estonian national organizations and became an activist on self-government reform, where he supported

centre-left
.

During his exile years, Strandman lived in

free speech in the media. In 1917, he became a prosecutor at Tallinn District Court.[3]

In March 1917, Strandman and some other known politicians, who were known supporters of autonomy,

German occupation.[3] After the October Revolution, Strandman led the Provincial Assembly session of 28 November [O.S. 15 November] 1917, where the assembly declared itself the highest legitimate power in Estonia.[2] After his work as the speaker of the parliament, Strandman was acknowledged for his neutrality and punctuality.[7]

Leader of the centre-left

After

Minister of Court. He also became one of the leaders of the Estonian Radical Socialist Party, which in 1919 would merge with the Social Travaillist Party to form the centre-left Estonian Labour Party. Strandman was however arrested by Germans in the summer of 1918.[3]

After the German occupation ended in November 1918, Strandman continued in the

Baltic German
nobility was redistributed to ethnic Estonians.

His diplomatic career started in December 1918, when he was part of the delegation to Sweden as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, asking for support in the Estonian War of Independence. Eventually Sweden sent a group of volunteers to the war. To pay for his trip to Stockholm, Strandman was forced to sell his own furniture.[3]

In the

Minister of War
.

Strandman's first cabinet was a centre-left coalition with the

Soviet Russia, making Estonia one of the first countries to do so.[12]

The 1920 elections made the Estonian Labour Party the biggest party in Estonia with 22 of the 100 seats in Riigikogu, the first constitutional parliament, but the centre-right parties had also gained strength. The Estonian Labour Party remained in the coalition, headed by State Elder Konstantin Päts of Farmers' Assemblies. Strandman went on to serve as the first speaker of the Riigikogu between 4 January and 18 November 1921.

Friedrich Karl Akel, he returned as Minister of Foreign Affairs between 26 and 14 March May 1924 and then Minister of Finance until 16 December 1924.[13]

Economic policies

Strandman figured several times in financial affairs. On 7 and 19 December 1923, he accused long-term

inflationist Minister of Finance Georg Vestel in the parliament for incorrect spending of the state treasury. It was Strandman's criticism that eventually led to the fall of Konstantin Päts's cabinet and caused him to stay away from power from 1924 to 1931.[14]

After the Estonian War of Independence, a large number of new businesses were started in a short time period and the industry was developed on loans, something which eventually led to financial difficulties. As Minister of Finance, Strandman proposed a plan for economic redevelopment that was supposed to reduce loans, lower the state budget and achieve a trade surplus by raising customs duties. At first, his actions saw little effect and he was criticised from both left- and right-wing parties, but eventually the Estonian mark stabilized, integrating the Estonian economy more with Europe.[15] He also supported building the economy on agriculture rather than transit between Russia and Europe, regarding Denmark as a model agricultural country.[3] In the media, his policies were mockingly called UMP (Uus majanduspoliitika – "New Economic Policy" (nep)) and KUMP (Kõige uuem majanduspoliitika – "Newest Economic Policy") after the economic policy in the Soviet Union at the time. In May 1924, Strandman didn't blame his predecessor Georg Vestel for deliberately creating hyperinflation, only for sheer optimism about his policies.[14]

For almost five years, Strandman didn't hold any important offices. He remained active in parliamentary politics and became known for his eloquence. As leader of the centre-left, his work continued to have a great effect on the economy, since he achieved for same kind of policies as he had implemented during his term as Minister of Finance. Economic historian Jaak Valge has argued that it was thanks to Strandman's rapid and decisive work that Estonia was able to avoid

Scandinavian countries.[3]

Late political career

As the Estonian Labour Party slowly turned from leftist to centrist, its popularity fell, leaving its highlights to the 1919 Constituent Assembly and 1920 Riigikogu elections. The party achieved only 12 of the 100 seats in 1923 elections, 13 in 1926 and 10 in 1929, until it finally merged with other centrist parties to form the National Centre Party in 1932.

During a governmental crisis in July 1926, the speaker of the Riigikogu

Karl August Einbund gave Strandman the task to form a cabinet. His economic programme still consisted of lowering the budget and reducing loans, something which was unacceptable to the right-wing Settlers' Party and Farmers' Assemblies.[16]

From 1927 to 1929, Strandman served as Estonian envoy to Poland, with additional accreditation to Czechoslovakia and Romania, residing in Warsaw. In June 1929, he unexpectedly resigned[17] and returned to Estonian politics to head his second cabinet, starting from 9 July 1929. It was a coalition between his Labour Party, People's Party, Christian People's Party, Farmers' Assemblies and the Settlers' Party, combining almost all political parties from the centre-left to right. Before taking office, he criticized the parliament for becoming a "factory of inadequate laws".[7] His cabinet remained in office until 12 February 1931.[3] It is however ironic, that the Great Depression reached Estonia when the head of government was Strandman, who had always supported cautious economic and financial policies. It was thanks to his strong skills in economics and finance that the coalition lasted for a relatively long time, 1 year and 7 months.[14]

During his time in office, he made a state visit to Poland in February 1930, where he met both President Ignacy Mościcki and Marshal Józef Piłsudski to propose the formation of a Baltic Entente, something which however didn't find Polish support. On his return home, he visited Vilnius, which was controlled by Poland at the time. The visit damaged the relations between Estonia and Lithuania, with Dovas Zaunius, Lithuania's Minister of Foreign Affairs, protesting the visit as a breach of neutrality in the Vilnius disputeBy 1931, Estonian-Lithuanian relations had somewhat healed.[18] In August 1930, Strandman hosted President Mościcki in Estonia.[19]

Membership in the parliament:

Later diplomatic career and death

Grave of Otto Strandman

From 1933 to 1939 Strandman was envoy of Estonia to France, Belgium, Spain and the Holy See, residing in Paris. In 1936 he supported Juhan Kukk, Ants Piip, Jaan Teemant, and Jaan Tõnisson, who signed a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister in duties of the State Elder Konstantin Päts, demanding civil freedoms and an end to his authoritarian rule.[20] In 1938, Strandman became a judge at the Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague.[21]

In 1939, Strandman returned to Estonia, but retired from public life due to ill health. As he was not active in politics, he was initially left alone after the

Soviet occupation in 1940. In 1941 however, Strandman received a formal notice to appear at the local headquarters of the NKVD. Realizing his fate, he shot himself to death in his home in Kadrina on 5 February 1941. He was buried in Tallinn's Sisekalmistu Cemetery.[3]

Cultural activities

Strandman was on the board of the

Warsaw University in 1930. Strandman renounced all honours and awards that had been given to him.[7]

Personal life

In 1907, Strandman married Lydia Hindrikson (1889–1934). They had three children; their daughter Hella (1909–1913) and son Hans (1911–1913) both died at an early age, with only the second daughter, Lydia (1914–1966), surviving into adulthood.[22]

Honours

National Honours

References

  1. ^ "Otto Strandmani sünd" (in Estonian). Histrodamus. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Histrodamus – Poliitikud: Otto Strandmani lugu Archived 18 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pillak, Peep. Eesti Päevaleht – Riigimees Otto Strandman –130 Archived 13 February 2013 at archive.today, 03.12.2005
  4. ^ a b Heads of State of the Republic of Estonia – Otto Strandman Archived 24 January 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ XX sajandi kroonika, I osa; Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn, 2002; p. 54
  6. ^ XX sajandi kroonika, I osa; Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn, 2002; p. 150
  7. ^ a b c Riigikogu pressiteated – Ene Ergma sõnavõtt Otto Strandmani mälestustahvli avamisel Tallinnas, 30 November 2005
  8. ^ XX sajandi kroonika, I osa; Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn, 2002; p. 169
  9. ^ XX sajandi kroonika, I osa; Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn, 2002; pp. 184–185
  10. ^ Vabariigi Valitsus – Vabariigi Valitsus 09.05.1919 – 18 November 1919[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Vabariigi Valitsus – Vabariigi Valitsus 26 October 1920 – 25 January 1921[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ XX sajandi kroonika, I osa; Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn, 2002; p. 221
  13. ^ Vabariigi Valitsus – Vabariigi Valitsus 26 March 1924 – 16 December 1924[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ a b c Sirp – Otto Strandman manitseb tänaseid eelarvetegijaid Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 12.09.2008
  15. ^ XX sajandi kroonika, I osa; Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastsaneerimaus, Tallinn, 2002; p. 264
  16. ^ XX sajandi kroonika, I osa; Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn, 2002; p. 290
  17. ^ Eesti Suursaatkond Varssavis – Sõjalisest missioonist saatkonnaks
  18. ^ XX sajandi kroonika, I osa; Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn, 2002; p. 332
  19. ^ XX sajandi kroonika, I osa; Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn, 2002; p. 339
  20. ^ Meie parlament ja aeg – 1936 Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ BHR – Otto Strandman Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Välisministeerium – Eesti välisteenistus. Biograafiline leksikon 1918–1991 Archived 23 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine, p. 110
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