Karl Selter

Who was Karl Selter?

Karl Selter was an Estonian politician and a Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia. He served as Minister of Economic Affairs from 1933 to 1938 and as minister of Foreign affairs from 1938 to 1939. His historically most memorable act was to sign a non-aggression and mutual assistance treaty with the Soviet leaders in Moscow in September 1939. This treaty gave the Soviet army a right to set up military bases in Estonia, and it significantly reduced Estonia's independence until the Soviet Union formally annexed Estonia between June and August 1940. Selter left Estonia in November 1939, resigning both as Foreign Minister and as a member of Parliament. He moved to Geneva, Switzerland as a diplomat, and after Germany and then the Soviet Union occupied Estonia, he stayed in Switzerland as an exiled diplomat and politician.