Kaarel Eenpalu (until 1935 Karl August Einbund) (, in Paju talu, Vesneri Parish (now

Tartu Parish Tartu Parish ( et, Tartu vald) is a rural municipality in Tartu County, Estonia. It has a population of 12,725 (as of 1 December 2022) and covers an area of . The population density is . It has one borough ( Raadi), six small boroughs ( Äksi, K� ...

Kreis Dorpat Kreis Dorpat (''Tartu kreis'', ''Дерптский уезд'', 1893-1918 ''Юрьевский уезд'') was one of the nine subdivisions of the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the northeastern part of the gover ...

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

– 27 January 1942, in Kirov Oblast,

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

) was an

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

n journalist, politician and head of state, who served as 7th

Prime Minister of Estonia The Prime Minister of Estonia (Estonian: ''peaminister'') is the head of government of the Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by the president after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions and confirmed by th ...

Education

Eenpalu was educated at the

Hugo Treffner Gymnasium Hugo Treffner Gymnasium ( et, Hugo Treffneri Gümnaasium; abbreviated as HTG) is a secondary school in Tartu, Estonia with special emphasis on science education. Founded by Hugo Treffner, it was the only large secondary school in 19th-century Est ...

in Tartu. Between 1909 and 1914 he studied law at

Tartu University The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

and later graduated from Moscow University.

Journalism

From 1910 to 1912 and in 1915 he was member of the editorial board of the ''

Postimees ''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 ...

'' ("The Postman") daily in Tartu, in 1918 editor of ''Postimees'', in 1920 editor-in-chief of ''Tallinna Teataja'' ("The Tallinn Gazette") daily, and in 1924 editor-in-chief of the ''Kaja'' ("Echo") newspaper.

War

Julius Kuperjanovi matused, ees Karl Einbund (Kaarel Eenpalu)

Eenpalu was active in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, serving as a battery commander in the First Estonian Artillery Regiment in 1917 and 1918. During the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westw ...

in 1918–1919, he first commanded the Tartu High School students' battalion, and then a battery in the Second Estonian Artillery Regiment.

Political career

Eenpalu was a member of the

Estonian Constituent Assembly The Estonian Constituent Assembly ( et, Asutav Kogu) was elected on 5–7 April 1919, called by the Estonian Provisional Government during the Estonian War of Independence. Estonian Constituent Assembly elections Activity The 120 members of t ...

(''Asutav Kogu'', 1919–1920), member of the unicameral parliament (''

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 Chief Just ...

'', 1920–1937), member of the lower house (''Riigivolikogu'') of the bicameral parliament since 1938), and held a series of high government offices in the independent Republic of Estonia in 1918–1940. In 1919–1920 he was State Controller. In 1920, 1921–1924, and 1924–1926 he held the position of the Minister of Internal Affairs, and can thus be considered a founder of the Estonian Police. From 22 June 1926 to 19 July 1932 and from 18 May 1933 to 29 August 1934 he was Speaker of the III, IV and V

. From 19 July to 1 November 1932 he was the head of state (''Riigivanem'', literally "Elder of State"). In 1934–1938 he was again Minister of Internal Affairs, and in 1938–1939 he was the

Capture

After the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

occupied Estonia on 17 June 1940, Eenpalu, along with a number of other leading Estonian politicians, was arrested in July 1940 and subsequently deported to Russia. He died in 1942 in a Soviet prison camp in Vyatka (''Vyatlag''), Kirov (Vyatka) Oblast.

Awards

* 1927 –

Order of the Estonian Red Cross The Order of the Estonian Red Cross ( et, Eesti Punase Risti teenetemärk; french: Ordre de la Croix-Rouge Estonienne) was instituted in 1920 by the Estonian Red Cross Society. The Order of the Estonian Red Cross is bestowed in order to give rec ...

I/II * 1930 –

Order of the Cross of the Eagle The Order of the Cross of the Eagle ( et, Kotkaristi teenetemärk; french: Ordre de la Croix de l'Aigle) was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a st ...

I * 1935 –

I/I * 1938 – Order of the White Star I * 1939 –

Order of the National Coat of Arms The Order of the National Coat of Arms ( et, Riigivapi teenetemärk, french: Ordre du Blason National) was instituted by Konstantin Päts on 7 October 1936 to commemorate 24 February 1918, the day on which Estonian independence was declared. The ...

Personal

Kaarel Eenpalu was married to women's activist

Linda Eenpalu Linda Marie Eenpalu (born Linda Marie Koplus, until 1935 named Einbund; 20 September 1890 – 4 June 1967) was an Estonian politician. She was a member of the National Constituent Assembly (1937) and a Member of the Second Chamber of the Nationa ...

. They had three daughters: Helmi-Aino (1917), Virve (1919), Tiiu-Hilja (1921) and Mai-Linda (1923). Politician Anne Eenpalu (born 1954) is Kaarel Eenpalu's granddaughter.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eenpalu, Kaarel 1888 births 1942 deaths People from Tartu Parish People from Kreis Dorpat Estonian People's Party politicians Farmers' Assemblies politicians Patriotic League (Estonia) politicians Heads of State of Estonia Prime Ministers of Estonia Ministers of the Interior of Estonia Members of the Estonian Constituent Assembly Members of the Riigikogu, 1920–1923 Members of the Riigikogu, 1923–1926 Members of the Riigikogu, 1926–1929 Members of the Riigikogu, 1929–1932 Members of the Riigikogu, 1932–1934 Speakers of the Riigikogu Members of the Estonian National Assembly Members of the Riigivolikogu Estonian journalists 20th-century journalists Hugo Treffner Gymnasium alumni University of Tartu alumni Moscow State University alumni Russian military personnel of World War I Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 1st Class Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle, Class I Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class Recipients of the Order of the Three Stars Estonian people who died in prison custody Estonian people who died in Soviet detention People who died in the Gulag