The Estonian Democratic Party (, EDE) was a political party in

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 ...

History

The party had its roots in the Estonian national movement towards the end of the 19th century. It was formally founded by Jaan Tõnisson in the city of

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

in 1905 as the Progressive National Democratic Party (''Eesti Rahvameelne Eduerakond'').Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, p385 Tönisson represented the party in the Russian

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

, where the party was affiliated with the

Constitutional Democratic Party The Constitutional Democratic Party (, K-D), also called Constitutional Democrats and formally the Party of People's Freedom (), was a political party in the Russian Empire that promoted Western constitutional monarchy—among other policies� ...

. In 1917 the party was renamed the "Democratic Party". It won seven seats in the Provincial Assembly elections in the same year, and became part of the Democratic Bloc in the Assembly alongside the Estonian Radical Democratic Party and the Rural League. The three contested the 1918 elections as the Democratic Bloc, receiving around 23% of the vote. In March 1919 the party merged with the Radical Democratic Party to form the

Estonian People's Party The Estonian People's Party (, ER) was a centre-right political party in 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 w ...

, with the new party going on to win 25 of the 120 seats in the Constituent Assembly elections in April. Some party members unhappy with the merger left to help form the Christian Democratic Party.McHale, p386

References

{{Estonian political parties Political parties of minorities in Imperial Russia Defunct political parties in Estonia Political parties established in 1905 Political parties disestablished in 1919 1905 establishments in the Russian Empire