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Lia Looveer

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Lia Looveer (née Saarepera; 5 October 1920, Narva – 8 November 2006; also Lia Looveer-Saarepera) was an Estonian émigré political activist in Australia.

Biography

Lia Saarepera was born in Narva, and the family then moved to Tallinn. As her mother was active in the Young Women's Christian Association, Lia become involved with the YWCA in a very early age. Lia Saarepera graduated from the E. Lenderi Tütarlaste Gümnaasium (E. Lender Girls High School in Tallinn) in 1938 and then studied law at the University of Tartu from 1938–1943. She became engaged to Robert Tasso on 31 December 1940, but he was arrested by the NKVD and deported to Siberia for fifteen years. She worked for the state broadcasting company at Tallinn from 1941 to 1944.

In the autumn of 1944, Lia Looveer escaped to Danzig (Gdańsk) in Germany, where she married Leonid Looveer (Looberg) in September. She worked as an announcer for Balti Raadio, a station based depending on the war situation in Danzig, Thorn and Rostock. Baltic Radio was a Nazi German propaganda radio station relaying for "Reichssender Danzig", broadcasting news, propaganda and entertainment in the languages of the Baltic countries. In 1945, the couple moved to Austria where their daughter was born at Braunau am Inn on 3 July of that year. They arrived in Sydney, Australia on 6 June 1949. At first they were in the Greta Army Camp, where Looveer became general manager (1949–52).

Lia Looveer was the founder of the Joint Baltic Committee of Sydney and its secretary from 1952 to 2002. She was a member of the Board of the Estonian Society in Sydney and office manager of the Estonian weekly Meie Kodu (Our Home) from 1956 to 1966. Lia Looveer arranged a number events that introduced Baltic culture and history to the Australian public. In 1953, she joined the New South Wales branch of the Liberal Party of Australia. At the federal level, Looveer participated in the Liberal Party's Advisory Committee on Ethnic Affairs and similar bodies, that dealt with immigrants' issues. Looveer was part of the inaugural executive of the Liberal Ethnic Council created by the State Council of the NSW Liberal Party. She was acknowledged in the Legislative Council of New South Wales by David Clarke. She was also secretary of the United Council of Migrants from Communist Dominated Europe in Australia which included Australian state politicians Douglas Darby and Eileen Furley, and Federal politician William Wentworth.

Looveer worked in the fund-raising Appeals Bureau of the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children from 1957 to 1985. Lia and Leonid Looveer had a daughter, Hille Reet (03.07.1945 - 30.07.2004) and a son, Juho Looveer.

Awards

  • British Empire Medal (1978), as a resident of the state of New South Wales, "for service to the community and the ethnic community".
  • Estonian Republic Order of the White Star, V class, "Freedom Fighter and Public Figure in Australia"
  • Heritage Award (Liberal Party of Australia, N.S.W. Division, 2002)
  • Cross of Merit of the Estonian Ministry of Defence, 29.06.1998

References

  1. ^ "LOOVEER, LIIA". Academic Library of Tallinn University. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  2. ^ Nikki Henningham (4 September 2006). "Looveer, Lia". The Australian Women's Register. University of Melbourne. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  3. ^ Helm, Inna (2000-10-25). "Lia Looveer B.E.M. 80.a.". Meie Kodu (in Estonian). Sydney, Australia: Estonian Council of Societies. p. 4. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. ^ Slamer, Ülle (1995-11-08). "Lia Looveer BEM 75. aastane". Meie Kodu (in Estonian). Sydney, Australia: Estonian Council of Societies. p. 4. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Darby was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. Diller, Ansgar. Rundfunk in Deutschland: Rundfunkpolitik im Dritten Reich (in German). pp. 404–406. ISBN 9783423031844.
  7. "The Joint Baltic Committee (1952 - )". The Australian Women's Register. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  8. Ian Hancock, The Liberals: a history of the NSW division of the Liberal party of Australia, 1945-2000, Federation Press, 2007
  9. Hancock, p197
  10. "Joint Baltic Committee Of New South Wales Annual Commemoration". David Clarke MLC. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
  12. Faith, Hope, Charity - Australian Women and Imperial Honours: 1901-1989. The Order of the British Empire (Civil), Looveer listed
  13. London Gazette, issue 47723 29 December 1978, p. 28
  14. "The resolution of the President of the Republic of Estonia on awarding Decorations of the State". Office of the President of the Republic - Press Releases. Office of the President of the Republic. 1998-02-10. Retrieved 3 May 2010.

External links

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