stonian historian, Member of Parliament, and former Prime Minister of Estonia in 1992-1994 and 1999-2001, Mart Laar was born in 1960 into an Estonia behind the Iron Curtain. Although never actually incarcerated, Laar braved Soviet arrest by researching the history of Estonian resistance to the Soviet WWII occupation of his country. After earning both a BA and MA from the University of Tartu, Laar, along with some associates interviewed and recorded accounts of Estonian resistance fighters known as the "Forest Brothers" and their support network of villages and helpers from 1944 to 1956. His book containing these accounts of bravery, heroism, fighting, Soviet atrocities, and hardships was published in 1992 under the title War in the Woods.
The President of the Heritage Foundation, Edwin J. Feulner, has called Mart Laar "the most successful historian among the Estonian politicians". Laar, who was chairman of the Historical Heritage Department in the Culture of History, first started his political career in Estonia's proto-Parliament known as the Estonian Supreme Council from 1990 to 1992. In 1992 Laar became prime minister of Estonia and set about taking his country from an impoverished nation ruined by the Soviet occupation to a modern nation with a healthy, sound, capitalist economy.
Determined to learn from the mistakes of other former leftists states that had failed in the transition to a free market economy, Mart Laar understood that the political structure of a society needed to be corrected first. In a 2002 speech before the Heritage Foundation he said, "Don't underestimate the importance of a new, modern constitution and democratic legislature with free elections. In some transition countries, the importance of the "rule of law" has not been understood, and this has been a huge mistake. No kind of general understanding, best effort, or wishful thinking can replace a sound and constantly improving legal environment. There can be no market economy and democracy without laws, clear property rights, and a functioning justice system."
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"When years ago, we were probably among the most "unfree" of the economies in the world. Estonian history has not been easy. In 1940 independent Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union. But we never gave up. We fought partisan war for nearly ten years and continued to resist in other ways. Along with mass deportations, Estonia lost one-third of its population as a result. We fought the Cold War together as brothers in arms with you, and we won it together. In 1991, the Empire of Evil ceased to exist."
- Mart Laar. |
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One thing that Mart Laar believes in is his people and his country. Along with free market reforms he realized that the people themselves must take responsibility and think for themselves. He has worked tirelessly to encourage Estonians to take risks, become competitive, and take the initiative. Believing in "Trade, Not Aid" Laar realized that modern technology was a key for Estonian commercial success and encouraged the growth of mobile phone manufacturing along with Estonia's more traditional textiles industry. Laar's free-market reforms took Estonia from a country devastated by Soviet economics to one of the most vibrant today in Europe enjoying a 7% rate of growth with 90% of all enterprises in private hands.
Only 42, Mart Laar, as a member of Estonia's Parliament is enthusiastic about Estonia's chances of joining NATO and the EU. When asked in an interview by editor Michael Tarm of City Paper about the contradictions between Estonia's economy and EU restrictions, Laar said, "I said we have to play by the rules in some sense, sure. But there are limits: we can't agree to things that would hurt our economy. Our position is that we can't give up our economic advantages, like our streamlined tax system.
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