Ernst Jaakson

Ernst Rudolf Jaakson (11 August 1905, Riga, Latvia (then Russian Empire) – 4 September 1998, New York, United States)[1] was an Estonian diplomat whose main contribution was to maintain the legal state continuity of the Republic of Estonia with his uninterrupted diplomatic service for 69 years (1929–1998), including the period of the Soviet occupation of Estonia (1944–1991).[2]

Education

Jaakson studied economics at the University of Latvia in Riga, and law at the University of Tartu. He later graduated from Columbia University in the City of New York with a degree in economics.

Diplomatic career

In 1919, Jaakson was employed by the legation of the newly independent Republic of Estonia in Riga, Latvia. In 1928, he was transferred to the Information Division of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tallinn.

In 1929, Jaakson started working as a diplomat and moved from Estonia to the United States. He was unaware then that the next opportunity for him to visit Estonia again would come 63 years later, in February 1992.

In 1929–1932, Jaakson worked as the secretary of the Estonian honorary consul in San Francisco. In 1932, he was assigned to the Consulate General of Estonia in New York.

When the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Estonia in 1940, and again in 1944, the United States and other democratic nations invoked the Stimson Doctrine, did not recognize the legality of Soviet annexation of Estonia, and continued to recognize the diplomatic representatives of the Republic of Estonia.

During the period 1940–1991 the US continued to receive Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian diplomats, first appointed in office by the respective national governments before 1940, after 1980 by the senior members of the diplomatic services of the three Baltic countries.[3] The Soviet Foreign Ministry issued formal protests against the Baltic diplomatic missions remaining open in Washington, DC, and elsewhere.[4] In 1947, a joint communication on the occupation of Baltic nations to the United Nations was sent by the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian diplomats abroad. The Baltic Appeal to the United Nations (now "Baltic Association to the United Nations") was formed in 1966.

On 26 March 1949, the United States Department of State issued a circular stating that the three Baltic countries were still independent nations with their own diplomatic representatives.[5]

In 1965, when his predecessor, Johannes Kaiv, died, Ernst Jaakson became the consul in charge of the legation. Thus, he was the chief diplomatic representative of Estonia in the United States until Estonia regained independence in August 1991.

In 1969, Jaakson issued a statement for Estonia to the Apollo 11 goodwill messages. Throughout much of the 1980s, Jaakson, as the longest-serving foreign diplomatic representative to the United States, held the position of Dean of the Diplomatic Corps (French: Doyen du Corps Diplomatique). During the long years of the Soviet occupation when the Baltic states' representatives in the West were often the object of curiosity or humorous dismissal, Jaakson commanded near-universal respect, and he did so not peremptorily but by his personal authority.

In 1991, Jaakson was appointed Estonia's ambassador to the United States and Estonia's Permanent representative to the United Nations. From 1993, Jaakson continued his work as the Estonian consul general in New York.

In 1995, Ernst Jaakson's autobiographical book Eestile (For Estonia) was published, which deals not only with his life, but also gives a very good overview of the diplomatic developments which took place over the years.

Jaakson died in New York in 1998, at the age of 93. By then he had worked in the Estonian Foreign Service for 79 years and served as a diplomat for 69 years.

References

  1. ^ "Ernst Jaaksoni sünnist möödus 110 aastat". vm.ee. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  2. ^ Kändler, Tiit; Lengi-Cooper, Küllike (2002). A hundred great Estonians of the 20th century. Estonian Encyclopaedia Publishers. ISBN 978-9985-70-103-4.
  3. ^ Hiden, John; Made, Vahur; Smith, David J. (December 17, 2008). The Baltic Question During the Cold War. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-37100-1 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Hiden, John; Made, Vahur; Smith, David J. (December 17, 2008). The Baltic Question During the Cold War. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-37100-1 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Schultz, L. (1985). "Legal History, Baltic states". In Feldbrugge, Ferdinand (ed.). Encyclopedia of Soviet Law. Gerard Van den Berg, William B. Simons. BRILL. p. 461. ISBN 9789024730049.
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