State Elder of Estonia facts for kids

The State Elder (Estonian: riigivanem) was the main leader of Estonia from 1920 to 1937. You could think of this role as a mix between a president and a prime minister in other countries.

The first Estonian Constitution, created in 1920, said that the government would include the State Elder and other Ministers. The State Elder's job was to represent Estonia, make sure the government worked well, and lead government meetings. They could also ask Ministers about their work. The government would choose one of its members to be the Deputy (assistant) to the State Elder.

However, the State Elder didn't have much power. The 1920 Constitution gave a lot of power to the parliament (the Riigikogu). This meant the parliament could vote the State Elder out of office at any time. This made it hard for the State Elder to balance the power between the government and the parliament.

In 1934, Estonia got a new constitution. This new plan changed the State Elder role to be more like a president, with a separate prime minister to lead the government. But this new system didn't fully start because Konstantin Päts took control of the government in 1934. He then ruled as the "Prime Minister in Duties of the State Elder" until 1937.

State Elders of Estonia (1920–1934)

This table shows the people who served as the State Elder of Estonia between 1920 and 1934. The 1920 Constitution created this role, replacing the earlier position of Prime Minister.

Picture		Name	Time in Office			Political Party	Cabinet (Government)	Riigikogu (Election Year)
			Started	Ended	Days
The 1920 Constitution created the office of State Elder.
1		Ants Piip (1884–1942) 1st State Elder	20 December 1920	25 January 1921	92	Labour Party	Piip ETE	Constituent Assembly (1919)
2		Konstantin Päts (1874–1956) 2nd State Elder	25 January 1921	21 November 1922	666	Farmers' Assemblies	Päts I PK–ETE–ERE–KRE PK–(ETE)–ERE–KRE PK–ERE–KRE	I (1920)
3		Juhan Kukk (1885–1942) 3rd State Elder	21 November 1922	2 August 1923	255	Labour Party	Kukk ETE–PK–ERE ETE–PK–(ERE)
4		Konstantin Päts (1874–1956) 4th State Elder (2nd term)	2 August 1923	26 March 1924	238	Farmers' Assemblies	Päts II PK–KRE–ERE–ETE PK–KRE–ERE–(ETE) PK–KRE–ERE	II (1923)
5		Friedrich Karl Akel (1871–1941) 5th State Elder	26 March 1924	16 December 1924	266	Christian People's Party	Akel KRE–ETE–ERE
6		Jüri Jaakson (1870–1942) 6th State Elder	16 December 1924	15 December 1925	365	People's Party	Jaakson ERE–PK–ESDTP–ETE–KRE ERE–PK–ESTP–ETE–KRE
7		Jaan Teemant (1872–1941?) 7th State Elder	15 December 1925	23 July 1926	725	Farmers' Assemblies	Teemant I PK–ETE–KRE–ARVK PK–ETE–KRE–ARVK–RVP
			23 July 1926	4 March 1927			Teemant II PK–ARVK–KRE–ERE–ÜMSL	III (1926)
			4 March 1927	9 December 1927			Teemant III PK–ARVK–ERE–KRE–ÜMSL
8		Jaan Tõnisson (1868–1941?) 8th State Elder	9 December 1927	4 December 1928	362	People's Party	Tõnisson III ERE–PK–ARVK–ETE
9		August Rei (1886–1963) 9th State Elder	4 December 1928	9 July 1929	218	Socialist Workers' Party	Rei ESTP–ARVK–ETE–KRE
10		Otto August Strandman (1875–1941) 10th State Elder	9 July 1929	12 February 1931	584	Labour Party	Strandman II ETE–ARVK–PK–KRE–ERE	IV (1929)
11		Konstantin Päts (1874–1956) 11th State Elder (3rd term)	12 February 1931	19 February 1932	373	Farmers' Assemblies	Päts III PK–ERE–ESTP PK–ERE/(KRE)–ESTP PK/(PAVK)–ERE/(KRE)–ESTP PK/(PAVK)–RKE–ESTP
12		Jaan Teemant (1872–1941?) 12th State Elder (2nd term)	19 February 1932	19 July 1932	152	Farmers' Assemblies	Teemant IV PK/PAVK–RKE ÜPE–RKE
						United Farmers' Party
13		Karl August Einbund (later Kaarel Eenpalu) (1888–1942) 13th State Elder	19 July 1932	1 November 1932	106	United Farmers' Party	Einbund I ÜPE–RKE	V (1932)
14		Konstantin Päts (1874–1956) 14th State Elder (4th term)	1 November 1932	18 May 1933	199	United Farmers' Party	Päts IV ÜPE–RKE–ESTP
15		Jaan Tõnisson (1868–1941?) 15th State Elder (2nd term)	18 May 1933	21 October 1933	157	National Centre Party	Tõnisson IV RKE–ÜPE
16		Konstantin Päts (1874–1956) 16th State Elder (5th term)	21 October 1933	24 January 1934	1,647	Farmers' Assemblies	Päts V non-party coalition
The 1934 Constitution planned to split the State Elder's job into a new State Elder role and a Prime Minister.

Acting State Elder of Estonia (1934–1937)

After the 1934 Constitution was adopted, the role of State Elder was supposed to be divided. However, Konstantin Päts took control of the government. He served as the Prime Minister but also performed the duties of the State Elder during this time.

Picture		Name	Time in Office			Political Party	Cabinet (Government)	Riigikogu (Election Year)	Separate Head of Government
			Started	Ended	Days
The 1934 Constitution planned to split the State Elder's job into a new State Elder role and a Prime Minister.
—		Konstantin Päts (1874–1956) 6th Prime Minister (in duties of the State Elder)	24 January 1934	3 September 1937	1,319	Farmers' Assemblies	Päts V non-party coalition	V (1932)	Prime Minister in duties of the State Elder Konstantin Päts
						None		Parliament disbanded
Later, the 1938 Constitution temporarily combined the roles of State Elder and Prime Minister into a new position called President-Regent.

See also

• President of Estonia
• Prime Minister of Estonia
• Riigihoidja