Riigihoidja (

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

"Caretaker of State", sometimes translated as President-Regent) was the name of the office of the

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

and head of the

caretaker government A caretaker government, also known as a caretaker regime, is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it co ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

from 3 September 1937 to 24 April 1938. The first person to hold this position was

Konstantin Päts Konstantin Päts ( – 18 January 1956) was an Estonian statesman and the country's president from 1938 to 1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades p ...

, five time former

State Elder The State Elder (), sometimes also translated as Head of State, was the official title of the Estonian head of state from 1920 to 1937. He combined some of the functions held by a president and prime minister in most other democracies. According ...

. His eventual successor ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' was

Johan Laidoner Johan Laidoner ( – 13 March 1953) was an Estonian general and statesman. He served as Commander‑in‑Chief of the Estonian Armed Forces during the 1918–1920 Estonian War of Independence and was among the most influential people in the Eston ...

, then Commander-in-Chief. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia Amendment Act (1933), which was approved by the people upon the

October 1933 Estonian constitutional referendum A constitutional referendum was held in Estonia between 14 and 16 October 1933.Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Politic ...

and entered into force (on the 100th day after the referendum) on 24 January 1934, the Elder of State was the representative of the people who executed the highest administrative power in the State. For governing the State, there was by the Elder of State the Government of the Republic (Section 57) appointed by the Elder of State and chaired by the Prime Minister (Section 64). By the Resolution No. 173 from 12 March 1934 (''

Riigi Teataja ''Riigi Teataja'' (State Gazette) is a public journal of the Republic of Estonia. The first issue was published on 27 November 1918. Since 1 June 2002, Riigi Teataja was published in electronic form, as Elektrooniline Riigi Teataja, in paralle ...

'' (State Gazette) 16 March 1934 No. 22 Art 56), Konstantin Päts extended validity of martial law to the whole territory of state for 6 months, which was later prolonged. During the martial law, the elections of the Elder of State were not organised and Konstantin Päts as the acting Prime Minister also acted as the caretaker Elder of State. In accordance with the Period of Transition Act, which was proclaimed on 17 August 1937 by Konstantin Päts as Prime Minister in duties of the Elder of State, and entered into force on 3 September 1937 after publication in the ''Riigi Teataja'' (3 September 1937 nr 71 art 598) the Prime Minister continued to fulfil his duties in the official status of the Protector of State in duties of the Elder of State until the new Riigikogu had been convened. He was also his own successor as first president from 24 April 1938 until 23 July 1940, formally until shortly after Soviet troops had occupied Estonia in June 1940.

Notes

References

WorldStatesmen - Estonia
Heads of government Political history of Estonia Titles of national or ethnic leadership Heads of state of Estonia {{Estonia-stub