Anton Uesson


Anton Uesson was an Estonian politician and engineer.

Early life and career

Born in Haimre Parish, Kreis Wiek, Governorate of Estonia, he was the son of Jaan Uesson and Ann Uesson. He was one of eight siblings. Uesson graduated from the Theological Seminary in Riga, present-day Latvia in 1902. In 1910, he finished his studies at the Riga Polytechnic Institute, graduating cum laude with a degree as a civil engineer. He began his career as an architect and engineer by constructing many of Tallinn's Jugendstil buildings in the 1910s, working for Tallinn's then-mayor Voldemar Lender. By the spring of 1912, Uesson was constructing over 40 houses in the capital city.

Politics

In 1917 Uesson was a founding member and member of the board of trustees of the Estonian Technical Society. In 1919, Anton Uesson was elected the Deputy Mayor of Tallinn; a post which he held until 1934, when he became deputy mayor, which post was renamed mayor since 1 May 1938.
In 1928, when the Tallinn city government learned that Herbert Hoover had been elected the United States president, Anton Uesson sent Hoover a congratulatory telegram. Hoover had previously, in 1920, been elected an Honorary Citizen of Tallinn. On 4 December Vaba Maa reported on President-elect Hoover's gracious response to Uesson from California.

Death

In 1940, during the Soviet invasion of Estonia in World War II, Uesson was arrested by Soviet authorities, along with many other prominent Estonian politicians and intellectuals. He was sent to a gulag in Yekaterinburg,
Sverdlovsk oblast and executed by gunshot on 13 April 1942.

Achievements

– Anton Uesson, 1938