The Estonian Constituent Assembly () was elected on 5–7 April 1919,Chronology at riigikogu.ee
/ref> called by the Estonian Provisional Government during the

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 ...

Estonian Constituent Assembly elections

Activity

The 120 members of the Constituent Assembly met at the opening session on 23 April 1919, the birthday of the Estonian Parliament and elected the chairman, Social Democrat August Rei. On 7 May, the Assembly passed the Public Elementary Schools Act: The principle of compulsory and free primary 6-year elementary school education was established. On 8 May 1919, the Estonian provisional government resigned, and the first fully democratically elected Government of Estonia headed by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Otto Strandman (Estonian Labor Party) took office. On 15 May, the assembly reaffirmed the

Estonian Declaration of Independence The Estonian Declaration of Independence, formally titled the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia (), is the founding document which established the independent democratic Estonia, Republic of Estonia in 1918. Issued during a period of intense p ...

, aimed at the international community for recognizing Estonia as an independent state. On 4 June 1919, the Assembly adopted a temporary

Constitution of Estonia The Constitution of Estonia () is the fundamental law of the Republic of Estonia and establishes the state order as that of a democratic republic where the supreme power is vested in its citizens. The first Constitution was adopted by the free ...

, and on 10 October 1919, the

Land Reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

Act was passed, which confiscated and redistributed the Baltic German estates, ending the 700 years possession of the regions that the Germans had gained after the

Livonian Crusade The Livonian crusade consists of the various military Crusade, Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – modern Latvia and Estonia – during the Pope, Papal-sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12th–13th century. Overview Historic ...

. On 13 February, the Peace Treaty of Tartu was ratified, signed by Estonia and

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

on 2 February. The first Constitution of Estonia was adopted on 15 June 1920. After the constitution had entered into effect and the first parliamentary elections were held, the Constituent Assembly disbanded itself on 20 December 1920.Historical Dictionary of Estonia; p. 140

Members

References

{{Reflist Politics of Estonia Constituent assemblies Independence of Estonia