Johannes Sikkar (October 15, 1897 – August 22, 1960) was the first head of the Estonian government in exile as Acting

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(January 12, 1953 – January 1, 1962).

Biography

Sikkar was born in Kõnnu,

Tartu County Tartu County ( or ''Tartumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in eastern Estonia bordering Põlva County, Valga County, Viljandi County and Jõgeva County. The area of Tartu County is , which covers 6.9% of the territory of E ...

. Sikkar served in 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 ...

against post-revolutionary

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on armoured train as a voluntary and an officer, he was granted a farm, which he held until 1944. He finished economic faculty of

Tartu University The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a Public university, 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.National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from June 15, 1926, to December 31, 1937. In 1940 and 1944 he participated in resistance against Soviet and

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occupations and escaped to

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September 12, 1944. There he was appointed and adjured minister by

August Rei August Rei ( – 29 March 1963) was an Estonian politician. He served as State Elder of Estonia from 1928 to 1929, and as Prime Minister in duties of the President of the Estonian government-in-exile from 1945 to 1963. Early life and educati ...

, 3rd Pater Estoniae on April 20, 1952, and Acting Prime Minister, as head of government in exile, and Minister of Interior on January 12, 1953. Because such political activities were then prohibited for Estonian exiles in Sweden, members of his government assumed their offices in

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. He died in

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Johannes Sikkar's government

*Johannes Sikkar (died August 22, 1960) – Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior * Aleksander Warma – Minister of Foreign Affairs * Tõnis Kint (from January 14, 1953) – Minister of Agriculture, from August 22, 1960, also Acting Prime Minister * Mihkel Truusööt (January 14, 1953 – September 10, 1956) – Minister of Economic Affairs * Aksel Mark (from September 21, 1956) – Minister * Arvo Horm (from September 21, 1956) – Minister * Oskar Lõvi (from May 25, 1957) – Minister of Economic Affairs * Peeter Panksep (from May 25, 1957) – Minister

Sources

* Johannes Sikkar, Mihkel Truusööt, Tõnis Kint and Aleksander Warma were appointed on January 12, 1953. Dates given above are these, when they assumed their offices. * Gustav Suits, who was appointed Minister of Public Education, assumed not this office and died on May 23, 1956. * Oskar Lõvi, Peeter Panksep, Aksel Mark and Arvo Horm were appointed on September 10, 1956. * Eduard Leetmaa was appointed Minister on January 31, 1959, but he assumed not this office. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sikkar, Johannes 1897 births 1960 deaths People from Kastre Parish Politicians from Tartu County People from Kreis Dorpat Settlers' Party politicians Members of the Riigikogu, 1926–1929 Members of the Riigikogu, 1929–1932 Members of the Riigikogu, 1932–1934 University of Tartu alumni Estonian World War II refugees Estonian emigrants to Sweden