Lia Looveer BEM (née Saarepera; 5 October 1920 – 8 November 2006) was an Estonian émigré political activist in Australia.

Biography

Lia Saarepera was born in Narva, and the family then moved to

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. As her mother was active in the

Young Women's Christian Association The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

, Lia become involved with the YWCA in a very early age. Lia Saarepera graduated from the Elfriede Lender Private Gymnasium in Tallinn in 1938 and then studied law at 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.

from 1938–1943. She became engaged to Robert Tasso on 31 December 1940, but he was arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

and deported to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

for fifteen years. She worked for the state broadcasting company at Tallinn from 1941 to 1944. In the autumn of 1944, Lia Looveer escaped to Danzig (Gdańsk) in Germany, where she married Leonid Looveer (Looberg) in September. She worked as an announcer for Balti Raadio, a station based depending on the war situation in Danzig, Thorn and

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

. In 1945, the couple moved to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

where their daughter was born at

Braunau am Inn Braunau am Inn (; ) is a town in Upper Austria on the border with Germany. It is known for being the birthplace of Adolf Hitler. Geography The town is on the lower river Inn below its confluence with the Salzach, where it forms the border with ...

on 3 July of that year. They arrived in Sydney on 6 June 1949. At first they were in the

Greta Army Camp Greta Army Camp was an Australian Army camp built in 1939 near Greta, New South Wales, Australia. It was used for training soldiers of the Second Australian Imperial Force (2AIF) during World War II. After World War II, the camp was converted in ...

, where Looveer became general manager (1949–52). Lia Looveer was the founder of the Joint Baltic Committee of Sydney and its secretary from 1952 to 2002. She was a member of the Board of the Estonian Society in Sydney and office manager of the Estonian weekly '' Meie Kodu'' ("Our Home") from 1956 to 1966. Lia Looveer arranged a number events that introduced Baltic culture and history to the Australian public. In 1953, she joined the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

branch of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...

. At the federal level, Looveer participated in the Liberal Party's ''Advisory Committee on Ethnic Affairs'' and similar bodies, that dealt with immigrants' issues. Looveer was part of the inaugural executive of the Liberal Ethnic CouncilIan Hancock,
The Liberals: a history of the NSW division of the Liberal party of Australia, 1945–2000
', Federation Press, 2007 created by the State Council of the NSW Liberal Party. She was acknowledged in the

Legislative Council of New South Wales The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

by David Clarke. She was also secretary of the United Council of Migrants from Communist Dominated Europe in Australia which included Australian state politicians

Douglas Darby Evelyn Douglas Darby MP (24 September 1910 – 22 August 1985) was an Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. His efforts in denouncing socialism, attacking the labour movement, breaking strikes, ...

and Eileen Furley, and Federal politician

William Wentworth William Charles Wentworth (August 179020 March 1872) was an Australian statesman, pastoralist, explorer, newspaper editor, lawyer, politician and author, who became one of the wealthiest and most powerful figures in colonial New South Wales. He ...

. Looveer worked in the fund-raising Appeals Bureau of the

Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children The Children's Hospital at Westmead (CHW; formerly Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) is a children's hospital in Western Sydney. The hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children". Its name was changed to the "Royal ...

from 1957 to 1985. Lia and Leonid Looveer had a daughter, Hille Reet (03.07.1945 – 30 July 2004) and a son, Juho Looveer.

Awards

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

(1978), as a resident of the state of

, "for service to the community and the ethnic community".''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'', issue 47723 29 December 1978
p. 28
/ref> * Estonian Republic

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

, V class, "Freedom Fighter and Public Figure in Australia" * Heritage Award (Liberal Party of Australia, N.S.W. Division, 2002) * Cross of Merit of the Estonian Ministry of Defence, 29 June 1998

References

External links

Passing of Lia Looveer BEM JP – Michael Darby's
{{DEFAULTSORT:Looveer, Lia 1920 births 2006 deaths People from Narva Estonian emigrants to Australia Australian recipients of the British Empire Medal Estonian World War II refugees Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 5th Class 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian women politicians Liberal Party of Australia politicians