Harri Lumi (7 February 1933 – 20 May 2025) was an Estonian

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

politician who was the last chairman of the Executive Committee of Tallinn from December 1984 to January 1990. Lumi graduated from Tallinn's 17th Secondary School in 1952 and, in 1957, graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the

Tallinn University of Technology Established in 1918, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech; ) is the only Institute of technology, technical university in Estonia. TalTech, in the capital city of Tallinn, is a university for engineering, business, public administration a ...

with a degree in engineering. He worked as an engineer in the Government of the Residential Government Reserve in Tallinn from 1955 to 1960, in the 1960s in the subordinate units of the Estonian SSR Ministry of Construction, and from 1965 to 1977, he worked as the Chief Engineer and then Head of the Construction Management Construction Board of Tallinn. From 1977 to 1979, he was chairman of the Republican Building Management Trust of Lumi. In 1979, Lumi was appointed the first deputy chairman of the RSN Executive Committee in Tallinn, where he worked until 1983. From 1983 to 1984, he was the Minister of Construction of the Estonian SSR. After the regaining of independence of Estonia, he was the Construction Director of the joint venture Estkompexim from 1990 to 1992, and from 1992 to 1995 he was the Deputy Head of the Industrial Construction Trust, a state-owned joint-stock company. In 1994, he was one of the founders of the joint stock company Parmeron and still held some ownership. Lumi was chairman of the Executive Committee of Tallinn from December 1984 to January 1990. He was the last chairman of the Executive Committee. He was chairman during the

Estonian Sovereignty Declaration The Estonian Sovereignty Declaration (), fully: Declaration on the Sovereignty of the Estonian SSR (), was issued on 16 November 1988 during the Singing Revolution in the Estonian SSR. The declaration asserted Estonia's sovereignty and the supre ...

, the subsequent

Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The term was coined by a ...

and the start of the dissolution of the

Estonian SSR 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 ...

. Lumi led the efforts to have Tallinn's

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

become a

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World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, as well as opening up Tallinn to foreign countries. He led the plans to start the dissolution of the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

government in Tallinn, eventually renaming the government from the Executive Committee to Tallinn City Government. He was succeeded by

Hardo Aasmäe Hardo Aasmäe (11 February 1951 – 29 December 2014) was an Estonian geographer, entrepreneur and politician. He was active in the Estonian People's Front, and he was the first post-Soviet Union, Soviet mayor of Tallinn, from 1990 to 1992. For ...

as mayor of Tallinn. Lumi died on 20 May 2025, at the age of 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lumi, Harri 1933 births 2025 deaths Mayors of Tallinn Communist Party of Estonia politicians Tallinn University of Technology alumni

See also

References