Arnold Veimer (20 June 1903 – 3 March 1977) was a Soviet Estonian politician and economist.

Biography

Veimer joined the

Communist Party of Estonia The Communist Party of Estonia (, abbreviated EKP; in Russian: Коммунистическая партия Эстонии) was a regional branch of the CPSU, Soviet communist party (CPSU) which in 1920–1940 operated illegally in Estonia an ...

(EKP) in 1922, and was given a lifetime sentence of

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

in the trial of the 149 in 1924. In May 1938, he was released in a general amnesty. After the

Soviet occupation of Estonia The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit ( union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the occupied and annexed territory of Estonia ...

in the summer of 1940, Veimer was elected a deputy to and chairman of the so-called

People's Parliament The People's Parliaments or People's Assemblies (; ) were puppet legislatures put together after the show elections in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to legitimize the occupation by the Soviet Union in July 1940. In all three countries, the ...

in Estonia, which later became the

Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR (Estonian: ''Eesti NSV Ülemnõukogu'') was the formal rubber stamp legislative body of the Estonian SSR without any substantive meaning, which was formally elected in general elections, but whose members ...

. In 1941 Veimer was elected to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Estonia, now renamed the Communist Party of Estonia (bolsheviks) (EK(b)P). The same year, he graduated from the department of economics at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

. In 1944–1951, Veimer was Chairman of the Council of Ministers (until 1946 Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars) of the Estonian SSR. After being removed from this position, he was appointed director of the Institute of Economics and Law of the Academy of Sciences of the Estonian SSR. After the death of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, Veimer returned to political work: in 1957–1965 he was Chairman of the

Sovnarkhoz Sovnarkhoz (, ''sovet narodnogo khozyaystva'', "Council of National Economy"), usually translated as Regional Economic Soviet, was an organization of the Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Sov ...

(Council of National Economy) of the Estonian SSR, and in 1965–1968 he was Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Estonian SSR. He later served as President of the Academy of Sciences of the Estonian SSR in 1968–1973.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Veimer, Arnold 1903 births 1977 deaths People from Jõelähtme Parish Politicians from Harju County People from Kreis Harrien Communist Party of the Soviet Union members First convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Second convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Third convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fifth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Sixth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Estonia Heads of government of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1940–1947 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1947–1951 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1951–1955 20th-century Estonian economists Soviet economists University of Tartu alumni Estonian prisoners and detainees Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the October Revolution Recipients of the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Burials at Metsakalmistu