Biography of August Rei

August Rei was born on 22nd of March 1886 in Kurla Village, Kabala Rural Municipality, Pilistvere Parish, Viljandimaa into the family of schoolteacher Mihkel Rei, who was later the director of the Põltsamaa State Liquor Store, and his wife, Marie Rei.

Rei first studied at the Kurla Village School (1891–1894), thereafter at the Pilistvere Parish School (1894–1896), and at the Tartu Alexander Secondary School (1896–1902). The latter is also related to activities collecting signatures to have Estonian-language instruction instituted.

In 1900, Rei, along with other underground secondary school students in Tartu, joined the nationalist group, the Estonian Sower (Eesti Külvaja). Because of a secretive meeting organized by the Taara Society in December 1902, Rei had to leave the Tartu Alexander Secondary School in order to forestall his expulsion. Thereafter, August Rei studied at the Novgorod Secondary School and graduated in 1904. In the same year, he continued his education at the Law Faculty of the University of St. Petersburg. Rei graduated from the Law Faculty of the University of St. Petersburg in 1911, after studies that continued after the university was temporary closed. During his university years, August Rei joined the St. Petersburg Estonian Students’ Society, later he belonged to the “Ühendus” Student Society.

During the Novgorod period, August Rei became enthused about the revolutionary movement. Starting in 1905, he was a member of the Tartu Committee of the Social Democratic Workers’ Party of Russia. In the same year, after a large number of Tallinn social democrats were arrested, Rei went to work in Tallinn, where he helped to establish social democratic associations in factories.
After the declaration of martial law in December 1905, August Rei hid in Tallinn, and continued his political organizing. At the beginning of 1906, Rei was jailed and was released on bail on 11th of July 1906. Later the charges against him were dropped because his guilt could not be established.

In July 1906, Rei participated in organizing the uprising on the cruiser, Pamjat Azova, and after its failure, operated for a short time as an underground organizer in Narva, continuing propaganda activities related to the State Duma elections.

The beginning of the idea for Estonian Social Democracy

Rei is one of the founders of the Estonian Social Democratic Union established in the spring-summer of 1917. At the Party’s First Congress in October 1917, Rei became a member and Chairman of the Central Committee of the Estonian Social Democratic Workers’ Party (ESDWP). August Rei was the Party theoretician as well as the leader of its moderate wing, favouring participation in coalition governments.

Rei was the founder and co-author of many publications with social democratic views. August Rei was also a founder of the ESDWP newspaper Social Democrat (Sotsialdemokrat) and its first editor-in-chief in 1927–1928, and along with Erich Joonas, the editor-in-chief of the ESWP newspaper People’s Word (Rahva Sõna). In the years 1906–1907, Rei edited the underground newspaper of the SDWP of Russia, the Social Democrat. During this period, he was also an editor of the newspaper Red Flag (Punane Lipp) and contributed to the left-wing legal newspaper Morning (Hommik) in Tartu.

In 1912–1913, August Rei voluntary served his national service in the Russian Army. He was discharged from the army as a reserve ensign, and in the autumn of the same year, started work as a lawyer in Viljandi, where he remained until 1914. During the First World War, August Rei was an officer in the artillery of the St. Petersburg Fortress (primarily in Sestroretski), and on the Northern Front in the summer of 1917.

Beginning of the Estonian Republic

In 1917, Rei came to Tallinn, where he was one of the organizers of the Estonian national units. He acted as the Vice-Chairman of the Supreme Committee of Estonian Servicemen, along with Chairman Konstantin Päts, and was himself the Chairman from June of 1917. As the Chairman of the Supreme Committee of Estonian Servicemen, August Rei was active in consolidating Estonian soldiers in Estonia and creating Estonian national units. Rei was also the head of the Judicial Department of the Estonian Military Headquarters, and for a short time, the Secretary of the Higher Military Court, as well as a second lieutenant from 1918.

After the collapse of the German occupation in September 1918, August Rei became the Minister of Labour and Welfare of the Temporary Estonian Government. In this Government, , Rei was also the Deputy to Prime Minister Konstantin Päts and Acting Minister of Education substituting for Karl Luts, who was imprisoned in Russia, from November of 1918 until January 1919. After a change in government, Rei was the Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Labour and Welfare starting in February of 1919.

August Rei was a member of the Constituent Assembly as a representative of the ESDWP, the largest party, and its chairman from 23 April 1919 to 20 December 1920. During his period as the Chairman of the Constituent Assembly, an appeal was made to all educated peoples with an explanation of Estonia’s national independence and sovereignty; the domestic development activities included passage of the Land Act, the Estonian Constitution, and the Public Primary School Act. At the time, the Landeswehr War was also taking place and the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed.

Rei was a member of the Riigikogu from 1920 to 1937, representing the ESDWP in the First and Second Riigikogu and the ESWP in the Third, Fourth and Fifth Riigikogu. As a member of the Riigikogu, August Rei was active primarily in the General, Foreign Affairs, and Financial Commissions. Rei was also the Chairman of the Second Riigikogu from 9th of June 1925 to 22nd of June 1926.

In addition to the aforementioned, August Rei was State Educational Advisor from 1923, leader of the Estonian delegation to the Estonian-Latvian Border Commission 1923–1925, leader of the Estonian delegation to the Plenary Meetings of the League of Nations in Geneva in 1925. Together with Jaan Tõnisson, August Rei was the Estonian representative at the Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference in London from 16th to 22nd of July 1930.

August Rei was the Prime Minister from 4th of December 1928 to 9th of July 1929. His coalition government included Socialists, Christian Democrats, the Labour Party, and the Smallholders’ Party. The highlights of the activities during his term as Prime Minister include the signing of a Trade Agreement with the Soviet Union. In 1929, the visit of Swedish King Gustav V to Estonia also took place, which was hosted by August Rei as Prime Minister.

From 1930 to 1934, Rei was Chairman of the Tallinn City Council, while also being consultant to the Ministry of Roads; from 2nd of November 1932 until 19th of May 1933, he was Foreign Minister in the Konstantin Päts government. In 1934, August Rei, along with Konstantin Päts, Johan Laidoner, and Andres Larka, was a candidate for Prime Minister (President). Until the summer of 1936, Rei also worked as an attorney in Tallinn (Rei defended Ado Birk during his trial in 1927).

From 17th of August 1936 until December 1937, August Rei was Deputy Foreign Minister. Thereafter, he became the Estonian Ambassador in Moscow, where, from 1938 to 1940, he witnessed all the momentous events that took place between Estonia and the Soviet Union at that time, including the signing of the infamous Mutual Assistance Pact.

In addition to the aforementioned governmental service, Rei was active in civil organizations and their formation. He participated in the Tallinn chapter of the Alliance Française, where he functioned as president from 1930 to 1936, he was a founder and Deputy Chairman of the Estonian Foreign Affairs Association (1937–1938), Chairman of the Estonian Workers’ Music Association from the beginning until 1938, and Chairman of the Tallinn Workers’ Music Association from the beginning until 1938. In addition, Rei was a member of the board of the private limited company Rahva Sõna, chairman of the supervisory board of the Tallinna Rahvamaja Foundation, active in the Täht publishing house, in the Tallinn Workers’ Theater, Tallinn Workers’ Sports Union, a member of the supervisory board of the Pikalaenu Bank, etc. In addition, August Rei was trustee of the Bekker Factory starting in 1929.

Activity in exile

On 13th of July 1940, August Rei escaped from Moscow to Stockholm through Riga. In exile, August Rei acted as a carrier of continuity of Estonian independence and was a founding member of many organizations that maintained Estonian ideals and helped Estonians.

In the years 1941–1944, Rei was Chairman of the Estonian Relief Organization (Eesti Abistamisorganisatsioon/Estniska Hjälporganisationen), and together with the Estonian Committee (Eesti Komitee) dealt with organizing the escape of Estonians in 1944. Rei was also among the founders of the Estonian Committee and the Baltic Committee (Balti Komitee) and a board member of the former. Rei was also a founder of the Estonian National Fund (Eesti Rahvusfond) and also its chairman in 1946–1949 and its first honorary member. As a founder of the Estonian National Council (Eesti Rahvusnõukogu), Rei was its chairman from 1947 until his death in 1963.
Rei was also the Chairman of the Estonian Cooperation Centre (Eestlaste Koostöö Keskus). It was the Estonian Cooperation Centre, together with the Estonian Democratic Club and chairman Johannes Sikkar, which compiled the memorandum to the First Conference of Foreign Ministers in Paris in 1946, which led to mutual negotiations and the creation of the Estonian National Council.

Rei was also active in the Estonian Scientific Society in Sweden (Eesti Teaduslik Selts Rootsis), as Chairman of the Estonian National Committee of the European Movement (Euroopa Liikumise Eesti Rahvuskomitee), in the Baltic Society (Balti Selts) in Germany and the German-Estonian Union (Saksa-Eesti Ühing). In exile, Rei worked as an archival assistant at the University of Stockholm.

August Rei died on 29th of March 1963 in Stockholm. His urn, which until 21st of June 2006 was buried in Stockholm’s Bromma Cemetery, will be reburied on 27th of August 2006, along with the urn of his wife Therese Rei, in Tallinn’s Forest Cemetery. The ceremony will start at noon in the Forest Cemetery Chapel.

The works of August Rei:

Ed. Vilde, Eesti Kirjanduse Selts ja Eesti Kultura (Tallinn, 1913);
Mis peab rahvas Asutavalt Kogult nõudma? (Tallinn, 1919; with Karl Ast);
Eesti iseseisvate sotsialistide sõnad ja teod (A. Reial; Tallinn, 1920);
Sotsialdemokraatia taktika põhimõtted (Tallinn, 1921); Eesti rahvamajandus ja Strandmani tollid (Tallinn, 1929);
Kas presidendist on meie riigil tulu loota?: Õpetlikke näiteid Prantsusmaalt (Tallinn, 1932);
Ha de baltiska folken självmant avstått från sin nationella frihet ([1943?], reprint);
Estlands kyrka under sovjetväldet 1940–1941 (under the name of H. Perlitz; Stockholm, 1943);
Have the Baltic Countries Voluntary Renounced Freedom? (New York, 1944);
The Church in Estonia / A. Torma. The Fate of Religion and Church under Soviet Rule in Estonia 1940—1941 / H. Perlitz (New York, 1944);
Balticum och Sovjetunionens säkerhet (Uppsala, 1944);
Have the Small Nations a Right to Freedom and Independence? (London, 1946);
Soviet Deportations in Estonia (stenciled);
Communism as I experienced it; The Soviets' hunt for uranium in Estonia;
Occupied Estonia (195-?; typewritten reproduction);
Occupied Estonia (New York; Washington, 1957; typewritten reproduction);
Mälestusi tormiselt teelt (Stockholm, 1961);
The Drama of the Baltic Peoples (Stockholm, 1970; 2nd ed. Stockholm, 1972).

Translated:

Ferdinand Lassalle. Mis on konstitutsion? (Peterburi, 1906);
Karl Kautzky. Suur Prantsuse revolutsion: Klassi-tulude vastuolud 1789 (Jurjev, 1906; K. Raud);
August Bebel. August Bebel'i riigipäevakõne 26. veebruaril 1907 (Tallinn, 1907; also contains Karl Kautzky’s essay, “Naisterahvaste valimiseõigus”; K. Raud).

A co-editor of the St. Petersburg Estonian Students’ Society anthology Ääsi tules (I–II; St. Petersburg, 1908–10);
Compiled the work, Nazi-Soviet Conspiracy and the Baltic States: Diplomatic Documents and other Evidence (London, 1948), editor of the Estonian National Union Reports (Stockholm, 1949; typewritten reproduction).

Official acknowledgement

Freedom Cross 3rd category, 1st class, 14th of December 1920
Eagle Cross Order of Merit 1st class, 6th of June 1930
University of Tartu, Honorary Doctorate, 1932

August Rei’s intimates

August Rei’s wife was the singer Therese Rei (16th of August 1891– 30th of May 1976). Therese Rei’s brother was Karl Friedrich Luts, a minister in the Temporary Government. August and Therese Rei were married in 1917.
Therese Rei also died in exile in Sweden, at the Sköndal Home for the Aged near Stockholm. Her urn will be reburied along with August Rei’s urn in the homeland soil in Tallinn’s Forest Cemetery. August Rei’s daughter, Hilja Rei, who is a doctor and psychiatrist, lives in Uppsala, Sweden.

August Rei had two brothers and a sister. One brother and sister were buried before IV 1908 in the Pilistvere Cemetery.

More is known about the life of Ferdinand Rei (born on 24th of February 1896 in Kabala Rural Municipality). He was active in the Olevik editorial office in 1913, and in the editorial offices of Kiir and Tööline (1917–1918); he was a Communist activist in Siberia, the managing editor of the Siberian Worker in Omsk in 1920 and lived in the Estonian Colony near Omsk. However, Ferdinand Rei was then expelled from the Party by a decision of the Estonian Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Russian CP Siberian Oblast Bureau for anti-Party propaganda and the non-observance of Party discipline and he repatriated to Estonia in 1920. Ferdinand Rei was able to escape to the Republic of Estonia with the help of his brother August Rei (otherwise he would not have been admitted) and under the condition that Ferdinand Rei refrain from further political activities.
After returning to Estonia, Ferdinand Rei lived on the Kadastiku farm, in Järavere Village, Imavere Rural Municipality in Viljandimaa. He learned about the 1941 deportations early on and warned others. He was also to be deported according to the resolution of the Council of Ministers of ESSR of 14th of March 1949, but was not deported. He hid with his wife from 1949 to 1953 with his wife’s sisters near Paide. However, Ferdinand Rei was still arrested on 2 March 1953 in Tallinn and in July of the same year, sentenced to 25 years in a forced labour camp and 5 years of exile by the Supreme Court of ESSR resolution based on section 2 of paragraph 58-10. After the decision, Ferdinand Rei was sent to Dubrovlag and was freed by the 1955 amnesty, after which he returned to Estonia and lived in Paide. Ferdinand Rei’s wife, Elsa Rei, was also not deported, having hid with her sisters near Paide. Elsa Rei was also arrested in March 1953 and sentenced to 8 years in a forced labour camp and 3 years of exile by a tribunal resolution based on section 2 of paragraph 58-10. Elsa Rei was in Harku Prison and was also freed with the 1955 amnesty.