Eduard Alver (15 March 1886, in Valga – 15 August 1939, in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

) was an

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

n lawyer, policeman, politician, and commander of the

Estonian Defence League The Estonian Defence League (, 'Defence League') is a voluntary paramilitary national defence organization of the Republic of Estonia, under management of the Ministry of Defence. Its aim is to guarantee the preservation of the independence and s ...

(''Kaitseliit'') during the 1918–1920

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

. From 1906 to 1911, Alver studied medicine at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. He also studied law 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.

, and received his master's degree in law at

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

. From 4 April 1919 to 24 October 1919, he was the commander of the

. From 1935 until 1936, he was the executive director of Eesti Kultuurfilm. Alver died in 1939 and was buried in Liiva Cemetery in Tallinn. Alver's grandson

Siim Kallas Siim Kallas (; born 2 October 1948) is an Estonian former politician, having served as Prime Minister of Estonia and European Commissioner. From 1972-90 Kallas was a member of the CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union). In 1987, Kallas was ...

and great-granddaughter

Kaja Kallas Kaja Kallas (; born 18 June 1977) is an Estonian politician and diplomat. She was the first female prime minister of Estonia, a role she held from 2021 until 2024, when she resigned in advance of her appointment as High Representative of the ...

later both became

prime minister of Estonia The prime minister of Estonia () is the head of government of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by the President of Estonia, president after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions and confirmed ...

.Even further from Russia: what is known about the new head of the Estonian government
Europeeska Pravda, 26 January 2021

Awards

* 1929:

Order of the Cross of the Eagle The Order of the Cross of the Eagle (; ) was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a state order in 1936. The Order of the Cross of the Eagle is bestowe ...

, II class.

References

1886 births 1939 deaths 20th-century Estonian lawyers Estonian police officers Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence 20th-century Estonian politicians Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle, Class II University of Tartu alumni Moscow State University alumni People from Valga, Estonia Burials at Liiva Cemetery {{Estonia-bio-stub