August Torma was an Estonian military officer, minister and diplomat. A veteran of the Estonian War of Independence, Torma was awarded the Order of the Cross of the Eagle

Order of the Cross of the Eagle

The Order of the Cross of the Eagle was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a state order in 1936.The Order of the Cross of the Eagle is bestowed to give recognition for military services and services...

, 1st Class, in 1936.

Early life

August Torma was educated at St. Petersburg University, then attended Vladimir Military Academy.

Military career

Torma was mobilized into the Russian Imperial Army during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and served as an officer. He was seriously injured in Galicia in 1917 and subsequently became a prisoner of war in Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. He eventually returned to Estonia in 1918 after a prisoner exchange via Denmark. Torma was attached to the British expeditionary force as the Estonian representative during the North Russia Campaign

North Russia Campaign

The North Russia Intervention, also known as the Northern Russian Expedition, was part of the Allied Intervention in Russia after the October Revolution. The intervention brought about the involvement of foreign troops in the Russian Civil War on the side of the White movement...

, serving in the area of intelligence. He subsequently formed a force of some 200 Estonian soldiers attached to the French expeditionary corps.

Diplomatic career

After the war Torma was the military attaché in Lithuania from 1919, then was appointed the chargé d'affaires in 1921. He returned to Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

 and was appointed the director Foreign Ministry political department, from 1927 to 1931 he was the assistant foreign minister. In 1931 became the envoy to Italy and Switzerland until 1934 and was permanent representative to the League of Nations

League of Nations

The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...

 between 1931 to 1939. From 1934 he was the envoy of Estonia in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 until his death in 1971.

August Torma was also responsible for the founding of the Estonian Lutheran Church congregation in London.