Ülo Nugis (28 April 1944 – 18 November 2011) 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, and t ...

n politician and economist. As Speaker of the Supreme Council of Estonia on 20 August 1991, he presided over the Supreme Council's historic session when it voted for the restoration of Estonia's national independence from 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, ...

Early life

Ülo Nugis was born on 28 April 1944 in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

. He studied at Tallinn Technical Secondary School for Building and Mechanics from 1958 to 1962, at Tallinn Polytechnic Institute from 1962 to 1965, and finally at Belarusian State Polytechnic Institute from 1965 to 1967 graduating in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

Career

Nugis worked as a teacher at Tallinn Technical Secondary School for Building and Mechanics from 1967 to 1968, and at various positions in the Pioneer and Tegur factories from 1968 to 1974. In 1974, Nugis became director of the building materials factory Ehitusdetail, and in 1980 director of a ski factory, Dünamo. In 1986, he became director of the Estoplast factory. Under his leadership, central

control of Estoplast was transferred to local Estonian control in 1988. Together with other Estonian-minded industrial leaders, Nugis formed the Union of Work Collectives () where he became the leader. In 1990, Nugis was elected to the Estonian Supreme Council at the first mostly free elections, becoming

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

. That same year, he left the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

and founded the Republican Coalition Party. On 20 August 1991, he presided over the Supreme Council's historic session where it voted to restore Estonia's national independence, with the

gavel A gavel is a small ceremonial mallet commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle. It can be used to call for attention or to punctuate rulings and proclamations and is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially in the ...

strike by Nugis confirming the result. In October, Nugis became the first Estonian politician to publicly state that the country should try to join

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

as soon as possible, even as Soviet troops were still present in the Baltic nation. In 1992 he became the speaker of the newly elected

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (; from Estonian language, 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 Minis ...

. Over the years he was in multiple different parties, including the

Pro Patria National Coalition Party Pro Patria National Coalition Party (''Rahvuslik Koonderakond Isamaa'' - RKEI) was an Estonian political party founded in 1992. In 1995 it merged, with the Estonian National Independence Party, into Pro Patria Union. The Pro Patria National C ...

, People's Party of Republicans and Conservatives, and the

Estonian Coalition Party Estonian Coalition Party ( et, Eesti Koonderakond) was an Estonian centre-right liberal political party. Founded in 1991 by Tiit Vähi, it disbanded in 2002. The party was an observing member of Liberal International from 1998 on. It had con ...

. After splitting from the latter, he created the New Estonia party, which he led from 2001 to 2003 before merging it into the

People's Union of Estonia The People's Union of Estonia ( et, Eestimaa Rahvaliit) was a political party in Estonia. Its last leader was Margo Miljand. In the 2003 parliamentary election, the party collected 64,463 votes, which made 13.0% share of all votes and 13 manda ...

. At the same year Nugis retired from politics. Nugis was a member of the 20 August Club which is an organization that is composed of the former members of the Supreme Council who had voted for the restoration of Estonian independence.

Personal life

Nugis and his wife, Vaike, had a son, Uno.

Death

Nugis died on 18 November 2011. The funeral at Charles' Church in Tallinn was attended by Estonian presidents

Toomas Hendrik Ilves Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016. Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the ...

and

Arnold Rüütel Arnold Rüütel OIH () (born 10 May 1928) is an Estonian politician and agricultural scientist. He has served as the last chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR from 8 April 1983 to 29 March 1990, Chairman of the Su ...

, among others. The coffin was covered with the Estonian flag that had flown over

Pikk Hermann Pikk Hermann or Tall Hermann (german: Langer Hermann) is a tower of the Toompea Castle, on Toompea hill in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The first part was built 1360–70. It was rebuilt (height brought to ) in the 16th century. A staircase ...

on 20 August that year. Nugis was buried at

Metsakalmistu Metsakalmistu (meaning ''Forest Cemetery'') is a cemetery in the Pirita district of Tallinn. Metsakalmistu was originally planned to be a public medieval cemetery. Eduard Vilde was the first to be buried in 1933. The original area of the cemet ...

cemetery.

Awards

Nugis was awarded

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 ...

4th class in 2001 and 2nd class in 2004, and memorial medal “10 years of restoration of the

Defence Forces The phrase Defence Force(s) (or Defense Force(s) in US English - see spelling differences) is in the title of the armed forces of certain countries and territories. Defence forces *Ambazonia Defence Forces *Artsakh Defence Army *Australian Defence ...

” in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nugis, Ulo 1944 births 2011 deaths Politicians from Tallinn Estonian engineers Voters of the Estonian restoration of Independence People of the Singing Revolution Tallinn University of Technology alumni Members of the Riigikogu, 1992–1995 Members of the Riigikogu, 1995–1999 Members of the Riigikogu, 1999–2003 Speakers of the Riigikogu Leaders of political parties in Estonia People's Party of Republicans and Conservatives politicians 20th-century Estonian politicians 21st-century Estonian politicians Burials at Metsakalmistu Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 4th Class Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 2nd Class