Villem Maasik (1883–1919) was an Estonian lawyer, trade unionist and politician. Maasik was born in 1883 in Vastseliina,

Võru County Võru County ( or ''Võrumaa''; ) is a county in southern Estonia. It is bordered by Valga and Põlva counties, Latvia's Alūksne and Ape municipalities, and Russia's Pskov Oblast (making it the only Estonian county to border two countries) ...

. He was elected to the Provincial Assembly of the newly established Autonomous Governorate of Estonia, which sat between 14 July 1917 and 23 April 1919. During this time, he also sat in government; he was Head of the Labour Department from its inception on 2 August 1917, serving for the duration of Jaan Raamot's period as Chairman of the Provincial Government (). When

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 ...

replaced Raamot on 25 October, he kept Maasik in his office, which he renamed "Head of the Labour and Welfare Department". On 24 February 1918, Maasik was then appointed Minister of Labour and Welfare in the first

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

, again under Päts. In practice, the Germans occupied Estonia in late February 1918, forcing the government underground. After the German defeat in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Päts' second government took office on 12 November 1918, but Maasik was not among them and did not return to government. He was executed on 3 September 1919 in Izborsk.Jaan Toomla,
Valitud ja Valitsenud: Eesti parlamentaarsete ja muude esinduskogude ning valitsuste isikkoosseis aastail 1917–1999
' ( National Library of Estonia, 1999), pp. 23, 145, 146, 311."Estonia: History"
''Encyclopedia Britannica''. Retrieved 3 March 2019.

References

1883 births 1919 deaths Estonian trade unionists 20th-century Estonian lawyers Members of the Estonian Provincial Assembly People from Võru Parish Politicians from Võru County {{Estonia-politician-stub