Kalle Kasemaa (born 30 December 1942) is an Estonian theologian, Lutheran pastor, and literary translator. He was a professor of Old Testament and Semitic studies at the University of Tartu and served as the first dean of the universityâÂÂs re-opened Faculty of Theology after Estonia regained independence.
Kasemaa has been widely recognised for his translation work and cultural contributions, including EstoniaâÂÂs state lifetime achievement award for culture (2017) and the University of TartuâÂÂs national identity award (Rahvusmõtte award, 2018).
Kasemaa was born in Pärnu on 30 December 1942. He studied road and bridge construction in Tallinn and, after military service in the Soviet Armed Forces, began theological studies at the Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC). He completed theology studies in 1973 and was ordained the following year. He earned a theology masterâÂÂs degree (magister theologiae) at the Institute of Theology (1976) and later defended a doctorate in theology at the University of Tartu (1997).
Kasemaa has served as a pastor in the EELC, including in Palamuse (1973âÂÂ1978) and Võnnu (1978âÂÂ2003), and held additional responsibilities in other congregations during the 1970s. In the 1980s he also held leadership roles in church administration, including as assistant provost of the Tartu provostry and as an assessor of the EELC Consistory (1983âÂÂ1989).
Alongside parish ministry, Kasemaa worked as a teacher and scholar at the EELC Institute of Theology (lecturer; associate professor; professor) and later at the University of Tartu. When the Faculty of Theology was reopened at the University of Tartu in 1991, he was among its founders and became its first dean (1991âÂÂ1996).
Kasemaa taught and researched primarily in Old Testament studies, Semitic studies, and Jewish studies, and held a professorship at the University of Tartu until becoming professor emeritus (2008). In a peer-reviewed overview of biblical scholarship in Estonia, he is identified as one of the essential figures of the late Soviet and post-independence period and is credited with key institutional work during the re-establishment of theology at Tartu.
Kasemaa is also known as a prolific translator into Estonian, especially of Jewish, Arabic, and Greek literature, as well as scholarly texts. His translations have been recognised by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, including a literature endowment annual prize (2006) for his translation of Nikos Kavvadiasâ Vahikord (The Watch).
Scholarly and cultural discussion of KasemaaâÂÂs work includes overviews and interviews in Estonian cultural and church media, and his role in biblical studies has been discussed in international academic literature.