Edgar Savisaar

Edgar Savisaar, from May 31, 1950, to December 29, 2022, was an Estonian politician and a founding member of both the Popular Front of Estonia and the Estonian Centre Party, who played a significant role in the country's independence movement during the final years of Soviet rule. He became the first Prime Minister of independent Estonia, serving from 1991 to 1992, a term marked by hyperinflation and widespread shortages as the country separated from the Soviet economy. He later served as Minister of the Interior in 1995 and Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications from 2005 to 2007, and was elected Mayor of Tallinn twice, from 2001 to 2004 and again from 2007 to 2015. Born in Harku Prison, he studied history at the University of Tartu. He died at age 72 and received a state funeral in Tallinn.