Jüri Vilms (, Arkma, Kabala Parish (now Türi Parish), Kreis Fellin,

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 ...

– May 2, 1918, Hauho near

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, unconfirmed info) was a member of the Estonian Salvation Committee and the first

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

of the Republic of Estonia. Empowered by Maapäev the Salvation Committee issued the

Estonian Declaration of Independence __NOTOC__ The Estonian Declaration of Independence, also known as the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia ( et, Manifest Eestimaa rahvastele), is the founding act of the Republic of Estonia from 1918. It is celebrated on 24 February, the Nation ...

on February 24, 1918 in the middle of a political

power vacuum In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...

created by the retreating Russian and advancing German troops during

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 ...

. The German forces taking over the country didn't recognize the independence of Estonia. The Salvation Committee went underground, Jüri Vilms volunteered to go to

to take funds and instructions to the Estonian missions working to get diplomatic recognition for the newly sovereign nation. According to an "official" version, he was captured on reaching the Finnish coast and executed by German troops in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

. According to the latest research Jüri Vilms may have been executed by a unit of the Swedish Brigade in Hauho. Estonia gained its independence after the German troops were withdrawn from Estonia due to the German Revolution and following

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 ...

ended with Peace Treaty of Tartu. Jüri Vilms was born in Kabala, now in Türi Parish,

Järva County Järva County ( et, Järva maakond or ''Järvamaa''; german: Jerwen; la, Jervia) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the central part of the country and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Jõgeva County to the south-east, ...

. He studied at

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet ...

Gymnasium where he qualified for free tuition due to a high grade point average. After graduating Vilms continued his studies at the

University of Tartu 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 ...

Faculty of Law 1907-1911. At the University he became a member of the Estonian Students Association where he was chosen to the position of elected chairman. In 1911 Vilms started to practise as a lawyer, first as an associate, and later opening his own law firm. After the beginning of World War I Vilms became involved with the Estonian National Movement, publishing articles demanding autonomy for Estonia within the

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. ...

. He criticized the political concepts of

Jaan Tõnisson Jaan Tõnisson (; , – 1941?) was an Estonian statesman, serving as the Prime Minister of Estonia twice during 1919 to 1920, as State Elder (head of state and government) from 1927 to 1928 and in 1933, and as Foreign Minister of Estonia from ...

who advocated the idea of cultural autonomy only and the ideas of

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 ...

who saw political opportunities in cooperating with

Baltic Germans Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declin ...

in Estonia. In 1917 Vilms founded a new political party in Estonia, the left-of-centre Eesti Tööerakond (Estonian Labour Party).

After the Russian February Revolution Jüri Vilms became a full-time politician. He was labelled as the advocate of the Estonian people by Aleksander Looring at the time. Together with Heinrich Koppel, Otto Strandman and

Jaan Raamot Jaan Raamot (9 August 1873, Avaste – 5 January 1927, Jäneda) was an Estonian agrarian personnel, politician, pedagogue. He was a member of Estonian Provincial Assembly The Estonian Provincial Assembly ( et, Eestimaa Kubermangu Ajutine Ma ...

the legal preparations for the administrative reforms establishing the Autonomous Governorate of Estonia were compiled. The documents became the basis for the decree of the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government ( rus, Временное правительство России, Vremennoye pravitel'stvo Rossii) was a provisional government of the Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately ...

on establishing the autonomy for Estonia. Juri Vilms has been characterized by

Jaan Kross Jaan Kross (19 February 1920 – 27 December 2007) was an Estonian writer. He won the 1995 International Nonino Prize in Italy. Early life Born in Tallinn, Estonia, son of a skilled metal-worker, Jaan Kross studied at Jakob Westholm Gymnasium ...

in his historical novel ''Tabamatus'', translated into

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

''Motstånd'',

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

''Kuningasajatus'' and French ''Dans l’insaisissable''. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vilms, Juri 1889 births 1918 deaths People from Türi Parish People from Kreis Fellin Estonian Radical Socialist Party politicians Estonian Labour Party politicians Government ministers of Estonia Members of the Estonian Provincial Assembly Russian Constituent Assembly members 20th-century Estonian lawyers Estonian expatriates in Finland University of Tartu alumni Estonian people of World War I Executed Estonian people Violent deaths in Finland Unsolved deaths