Education
Karl Ast attended at the renowned Hugo Treffner Gymnasium in Tartu.
Karl Ast attended at the renowned Hugo Treffner Gymnasium in Tartu.
Ast supported the Russian Revolution of 1905 and was imprisoned in Riga for a period from 1907 to 1910 as a result of his criticism of the authoritarian regime of the Tsar. He participated in the First World War in the Russian Imperial Army. Between 1933 and 1939 he traveled the world (including the capitals of Europe, North Africa, India, Japan, China) and had written numerous travel accounts and reports.
In 1939 he was Estonian press attaché in Sweden.
During the Second World War, Karl Ast emigrated from Europe, settling in Brazil, then in Canada and eventually in the United States. He served with the Estonian government in exile until 1959.
He was a member of the Estonian Constituent Assembly in 1919. From 1919 to 1933 he was a member of the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu).