Voldemar Ojansoon (until 1935 Voldemar Ojanson; August 20, 1897 – 1942) was an Estonian lawyer and diplomat.

Early life and education

Voldemar Ojansoon was born at in

Tartu Parish Tartu Parish () is a rural municipality in Tartu County, 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 S ...

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 ...

, the son of Kristjan Ojanson (1872–1910) and Karoline Ojanson (née Feldmann, 1878–?). After graduating from , he attended the University of Tartu's Faculty of Medicine in 1917 and the Faculty of Law from 1917 to 1923. Ojansoon was a member of the Estonian student organization Korporatsioon Sakala. He served in the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

as a staff writer for the 2nd Division.

Career

In 1923, Ojansoon became an attaché at the Estonian embassy in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He then served as the second secretary at the embassy in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

(from May 1, 1924), the deputy consul at the

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

consulate (from April 1, 1926), the second secretary at the embassy in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(from November 1, 1926), the first secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (from January 8, 1934), the head of the consular office (from January 7, 1935), the head of the office for the League of Nations (from January 1, 1936), the head of the office of the political department (from January 15, 1937), and a counselor at the

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

embassy (from July 1, 1938 to August 26, 1940). The Estonian embassy in Moscow operated until August 1940. After the June 1940 Soviet invasion and occupation of Estonia, the envoy

August Rei August Rei ( – 29 March 1963) was an Estonian politician. He served as State Elder of Estonia from 1928 to 1929, and as Prime Minister in duties of the President of the Estonian government-in-exile from 1945 to 1963. Early life and educati ...

escaped from the Soviet Union through

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

to Sweden. The embassy was liquidated, and its assets were transferred to 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 ...

. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered Ojansoon to return to Estonia, which he did, traveling by train 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 ...

with his wife Margit. They hoped that they had thus escaped danger, but after reaching Tallinn Ojansoon was arrested by the NKVD. After interrogating him, the Soviet authorities sentenced Ojansoon under the laws of the

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

. Ojansoon died in captivity in Russia, but the exact time and place of death are unknown. Margit Ojansoon escaped to England during the war, where she later died.

Family

Ojansoon was married to Margit (a.k.a. Margarethe) née Peterson (1899–1976). He was the brother-in-law of the writer Yri Naelapea, who was married to Alice Rosalie Ojanson (1899–1999).

Awards and recognitions

Order of the Cross of the Eagle The Order of the Cross of the Eagle (; ) was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a state order in 1936. The Order of the Cross of the Eagle is bestowe ...

, 4th Class (1936) *

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

, 3rd class *

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

of Latvia, 3rd class *

Order of Vytautas the Great The Order of Vytautas the Great () is the Lithuanian Presidential Award.''Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija. 84 straipsnis''. Priimta 1992 It may be conferred on the heads of Lithuania and foreign states, as well as their citizens, for distinguish ...

of Lithuania, 3rd class *

Order of Merit of the Kingdom of Hungary Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

, Commander (1939)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ojansoon, Voldemar 1897 births 1942 deaths Estonian diplomats Estonian jurists Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle, Class IV University of Tartu alumni People from Tartu Parish Estonian people who died in Soviet detention