Rein Otsason oli Eesti majandus teadlane ja pankur 1993

Rein Otsason (24 May 1931 – 30 October 2004) was an Estonian banker.

Biography

Otsason was born on 24 May 1931, in

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 ...

.Mäeltsemees, Sulev
"Rein Otsason – scientist, politician, banker (by Sulev Mäeltsemees)"
''Estonian Discussions on Economic Policy'', ''25''(1).19 September 2017 https://doi.org/10.15157/tpep.v25i1.13731 Retrieved 29 June 2024 After obtaining secondary education he came to study in

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 ...

and graduated in 1954 from

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

as an

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

. He became one of the leading researchers on economics, being finally nominated as the Director of the Institute of Economics at the

Estonian Academy of Sciences Founded in 1938, the Estonian Academy of Sciences (, ) is Estonia's national academy of science in Tallinn. As with other national academies, it is an independent group of well-known scientists whose stated aim is to promote research and develo ...

. Otsason completed a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in Economics in 1984. From 1988 to 1989, he worked as the Head of the State Plan Committee 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 ...

. Those years were the beginning of Estonia breaking away from the Soviet system. On 15 December 1989, the Estonian government decided to establish the

Bank of Estonia The Bank of Estonia () is the national central bank for Estonia within the Eurosystem. It was the Estonian central bank from 1919 to 2010 (albeit with a long suspension between 1940 and 1989), issuing the kroon. Name Like other central bank ...

(''Eesti Pank''). On 28 December 1989, the Bank Law of the Republic of Estonia was passed and Otsason was appointed the first President of the Bank of Estonia. On 1 January 1990, the Bank of Estonia began its work as independent bank of issue.

Bank of Estonia

Otsason led the Bank of Estonia in its very first years when legal acts regulating the activities of the bank were created and

monetary reform Monetary reform is any movement or theory that proposes a system of supplying money and financing the economy that is different from the current system. Monetary reformers may advocate any of the following, among other proposals: * A return to ...

to re-establish

Estonian kroon The kroon (sign: KR; code: EEK) was the official currency of Estonia for two periods in history: 1928–1940 and 1992–2011. Between 1 January and 14 January 2011, the kroon circulated together with the euro, after which the euro became the sole ...

as the

national currency Fiat money is a type of government-issued currency that is not backed by a precious metal, such as gold or silver, nor by any other tangible asset or commodity. Fiat currency is typically designated by the issuing government to be legal tender, ...

of Estonia was prepared. On 15 March 1990, the Statutes of the Bank of Estonia were approved; on 15 May 1990 the procedure for establishment of

commercial banks A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit (finance), deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a Profit (economics), profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division o ...

was established. The programmes for transition to national currency were finished in November 1990 and the next year started the preparations for monetary reform. Otsason participated in the work of Monetary Reform Committee established on 27 March 1991 and led by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Edgar Savisaar Edgar Savisaar (31 May 1950 – 29 December 2022) was an Estonian politician, one of the founding members of Popular Front of Estonia and the Estonian Centre Party, Centre Party. He served as the Prime Minister of Estonia, acting Prime Minister ...

. He signed on 10 May 1991 a contract with the company Thomas De La Rue & Co Ltd. for printing banknotes of Estonian kroons. Although his work was crucial for the success of monetary reform, he was not the one to supervise the reform. His wish to postpone the monetary reform until a way would be found to alleviate social problems caused by the reform led to confrontation with his superiors and on 23 September 1991 he was replaced with

Siim Kallas Siim Kallas (; born 2 October 1948) is an Estonian former politician, having served as Prime Minister of Estonia and European Commissioner. From 1972-90 Kallas was a member of the CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union). In 1987, Kallas was ...

. The reform took place on 20 June 1992. Otsason and

are often called the "fathers of Estonian kroon". Otsason was decorated by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Republic with the Estonian Order of the Coat of Arms, 4th class (2003).

Estonian Credit Bank

Otsason started to work on creating his own bank. The commercial bank known as Estonian Credit Bank (''Eesti Krediidipank'') was established on 15 March 1992. Otsason was the leader of the bank from its establishment till his death, first as the

Chairman of the Board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

and post 2000 as the Chairman of the Council. He and his wife Valentina Otsason were also the main

shareholders A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...

of the Estonian Credit Bank. Using his extensive knowledge and connections, he managed to maintain the bank even during the

1998 Russian financial crisis The Russian financial crisis (also called the ruble crisis or the Russian flu) began in Russia on 17 August 1998. It resulted in the Russian government and the Russian Central Bank devaluing the Russian rouble, ruble and sovereign default, defau ...

, when numerous small financial institutions went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

. As the President of the Estonian Credit Bank, he was also a board member of the Estonian Banking Association (''Eesti Pangaliit''). In 2003, Otsason started co-operation with the

Bank of Moscow The Bank of Moscow () was a Russian bank that provided banking services to both corporate and retail customers until May 2016. Headquartered in Moscow, the bank had 267 outlets, including branch offices and cash desks. BoM had over 114,000 corpor ...

, which obtained 18.69% of the

shares In financial markets, a share (sometimes referred to as stock or equity) is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation. It can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Sha ...

of the Estonian Credit Bank through its subsidiary company Latvian Business Bank. After Otsason's death, on 20 October 2004, in Tallinn, the Latvian Business Bank became a major shareholder of the Estonian Credit Bank, obtaining 60% of shares on 2 August 2005.

Politics

Otsason was a member of the

Union for the Republic - Res Publica Res Publica Party () was a political party in Estonia that self-identified as conservative. Established as a party on 8 December 2001, the political organisation Res Publica was founded already as early as 1989 and existed as a community of you ...

and was a candidate at the

2003 Estonian parliamentary election 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

. He was elected to the Estonian Parliament (

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (, from Estonian ''riigi-'', "of the state", and ''kogu'', "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chi ...

), but turned down his seat and decided to continue his work in the bank.

Career

*1980–1984 First Secretary, Soviet embassy,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

*1984–1988 Director of the Institute of Economics at the

*1988–1989 Head of the Estonian State Plan Committee *1989–1991 President of the

*1992–2004 President of the Estonian Credit Bank *1992–2000 Chairman of the Board of the Estonian Credit Bank *2000–2004 Chairman of the Council of the Estonian Credit Bank

References