The Head of State of Estonia or State Elder ( et, riigivanem) was the official title of the

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, an ...

n head of state from 1920 to 1937. He combined some of the functions held by a

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

in most other democracies. According to the 1920 Estonian Constitution, which was enforced by the “Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, the Referendum Act and the Citizens’s Initiative Act Implementation Act“ on July 2, 1920, after being approved by the Constituent Assembly on June 16, 1920 (''Riigi Teataja'' August 9, 1920 No. 113/114), the Government of the Republic consisted of the ''riigivanem'' (Head of State) and Ministers (Section 58). The responsibilities of the Head of State were representing the

Republic of Estonia A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

, administration and co-ordination of the activities of the Government of the Republic, chairing the Government meetings; the Head of State had the right to make inquiries about the activities of the Ministers (Section 62). The Government of the Republic appointed one of its members the Deputy of the Elder of State. In practice, the Head of State had very little power. The 1920 constitution was radically parliamentarian in character, and the Head of State could be voted out of office at any time. This limited his ability to play a balancing role between the government and the legislature. With the 1934 constitution, the institution saw a reform and it became the equivalent of a president only as a separate head of government was to be elected. The 1934 coup by

Konstantin Päts Konstantin Päts (; – 18 January 1956) was an Estonian statesman and the country's president in 1938–1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades prior ...

resulted in the institution never coming to real life as he ruled as the Prime Minister in Duties of the Head of State until 1937.

Heads of State of the Republic of Estonia, 1920–1934

Head of State of the Republic of Estonia, 1934–1937

Notes

References

{{Types of heads of government Political history of Estonia State Elder Titles of national or ethnic leadership

Heads of State of the Republic of Estonia, 1920–1934

Head of State of the Republic of Estonia, 1934–1937

See also

Notes

References