Jüri Kork (born 3 August 1947,

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 ...

) is an Estonian politician, most notable for voting for the

Estonian restoration of Independence Estonian Restoration of Independence, legally defined as the Restoration of the Republic of Estonia, was proclaimed on 20 August 1991. On that day at 23:02 local time, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia, in agreement with the E ...

. Kork graduated from Tsirguliina High School in 1966 and the Department of Physical Education from the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a 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.

in 1970. He worked as a teacher at

Põltsamaa Põltsamaa is a town in Põltsamaa Parish, Jõgeva County, in central Estonia. The town stands on the Põltsamaa River, and it features a Põltsamaa Castle, 13th-century castle. History During the German occupation in World War II, a subcamp of ...

High School from 1972 to 1976. From 1976 to 1982, he was the chairman of the Sports Committee of the

Jõgeva Jõgeva is a small town in Estonia with a population of around 5000 people. It is the capital of Jõgeva Parish and Jõgeva County. History Jõgeva was first mentioned in 1599 as ''Jagiwa'' manor, being established only recently on the lands ...

Raion and, from 1982 to 1990, was the director of

Pühajärve Pühajärve () is a village in Otepää Parish, Valga County in southern Estonia. It has a population of 182 (as of 7 February 2008). File:Pühajärve mõisa peahoone 2013.jpg, Main building of Pühajärve Manor File:Pühajärv lake 2008.jpg, L ...

Holiday Village. From

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

to 1992, Kork was a member of the Supreme Soviet of Estonia and 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 ...

, voting for Estonia's restoration of independence. In the Soviet, he was a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Family and Social Affairs Committee and later the Administrative Reform Commission. He is a member of the Group of Farmers' Deputies. Kork participated in the founding of the

Popular Front of Estonia The Popular Front of Estonia (; RR), introduced to the public by the Estonian politician Edgar Savisaar under the short-lived name Popular Front for the Support of Perestroika, was a political organisation in Estonia in the late 1980s and earl ...

Otepää Otepää (formerly Nuustaku) is a town in Valga County, southern Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Otepää Parish. Otepää is a popular skiing resort, popularly known as the "winter capital" of Estonia (in contrast to the "summer ca ...

and

Valga County Valga County ( or ''Valgamaa'') is a first-level administrative unit and one of 15 counties of Estonia. It comprises the former area of Valga District. The present-day county was created on 1 January 1990. The capital and largest town of Valga Co ...

. During the occupation of Estonia by the

Soviet Union 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 ...

, he was one of the keepers of the secret of the first Estonian flag's hiding place.

Awards

* 2002: 5th Class of the Estonian Order of the National Coat of Arms (received 23 February 2002) * 2006: 3rd Class of the Estonian Order of the National Coat of Arms (received 23 February 2006)

Personal life

Kork's siblings are doctor and politician Andres Kork, politician and businessman Toomas Kork, and nurse and psychiatrist Anu Kasmel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kork, Juri 1947 births Living people Politicians from Tartu Voters of the Estonian restoration of Independence University of Tartu alumni Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 5th Class 20th-century Estonian politicians