Endel Ratas (8 December 1938 Tarva,

Pärnu County Pärnu County ( or ''Pärnumaa''; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the north, Järva and Viljandi counties to ...

– 2 September 2006) was an

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

freedom fighter and politician. Since 1957 he was a member of Estonian Freedom Fighters' Union (). From 1959 to 1963 he was in a prison camp in Mordva Republic, Russia. In 1979, he was one of the fourth Estonians who signed

Baltic Appeal The Baltic Appeal (, or ''Baltiešu memorands'', ) was a public letter to the secretary-general of the United Nations, Soviet Union, East and West Germany, and signatories of the Atlantic Charter by 45 Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian citizens. S ...

. In 1988, he was a founding member of the

Estonian National Independence Party The Estonian National Independence Party, or ENIP, (, ''ERSP''), founded on 20 August 1988 in Estonian SSR, was the first non-communist political party established in the former USSR. Founders of the party were nationalist and anti-communist diss ...

(''Eesti Rahvusliku Sõltumatuse Partei'', or ''ERSP''). In 1990 he was a member of the

Congress of Estonia The Congress of Estonia (Estonian: ''Eesti Kongress'') was a grassroots parliament elected in February 1990 in then Soviet-occupied Estonia and actively participating in the popular nonviolent resistance to the Soviet rule, which resulted in the ...

. In 2000, he was awarded the

Order of the National Coat of Arms The Order of the National Coat of Arms (, ) was instituted by Konstantin Päts on 7 October 1936 to commemorate 24 February 1918, the day on which Estonian independence was declared. The Order of the National Coat of Arms is bestowed only on Est ...

, III Class. In 2006 he was awarded the

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

, II class.

References

1938 births 2006 deaths Estonian independence activists Estonian National Independence Party politicians Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 2nd Class Estonian prisoners and detainees Estonian Gulag detainees Estonian people imprisoned in the Soviet Union People from Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish Politicians from Pärnu County {{Estonia-politician-stub