Lennart Georg Meri (; 29 March 1929 – 14 March 2006) was an Estonian writer, film director, and statesman. He was the country's foreign minister from 1990 to 1992 and

President of Estonia The president of the Republic of Estonia () is the head of state of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid. Estonia is one of the few parliam ...

from 1992 to 2001.

Early life

Meri was born in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, a son of the Estonian diplomat and later

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

translator Georg Meri, and

Estonian Swedish Estonian Swedish (; ) are the eastern varieties of the Swedish language that were until the mid-20th century spoken in the ''Aiboland'', the coastal areas and islands of western and northern Estonia which had been inhabited since the Middle Age ...

mother Alice-Brigitta Engmann. With his family, Lennart left Estonia at an early age and studied abroad, in nine different schools and in four different languages. His warmest memories were from his school years in Lycée Janson de Sailly in Paris. In addition to his native

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

, Lennart Meri fluently spoke five other languages: Finnish, French, German, English, and Russian. Lennart Meri and his family lived in Tallinn when Estonia was invaded and occupied by the

Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in June 1940. In 1941, the Meri family was

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its Sovereignty, sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

along with thousands of other Estonians,

Latvians Latvians () are a Baltic ethnic group and nation native to Latvia and the immediate geographical region, the Baltics. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, especially in older bibliography. Latvians share a common Latvian language ...

, and

Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...

sharing the same fate. Heads of the family were separated from their families and shut into concentration camps where only a few survived. At the age of twelve, Lennart Meri worked as a lumberman in

. He also worked as a potato peeler and a rafter to support his family. Whilst in exile, Lennart Meri grew interested in the other

Finno-Ugric languages Finno-Ugric () is a traditional linguistic grouping of all languages in the Uralic language family except for the Samoyedic languages. Its once commonly accepted status as a subfamily of Uralic is based on criteria formulated in the 19th centur ...

that he heard around him, the language family of which his native Estonian is also a part. His interest in the ethnic and cultural kinship amongst the scattered "Finno-Ugric family" became a lifelong theme within his work. The Meri family survived and found their way back to Estonia where Lennart Meri graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' from the Faculty of History and Languages of the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

in 1953. On 5 March 1953, the day of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, he proposed to his first wife Regina Meri, saying "Let us remember this happy day forever." The

politics of the Soviet Union The political system of the Soviet Union took place in a federal single-party soviet socialist republic framework which was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the only party permitted by the C ...

did not allow him to work as a historian, so Meri found work as a dramatist in the

Vanemuine Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It is the first Estonian language, Estonian-language theatre. Stemming from the Vanemuine Society (1865), the theatre's first performance was Lydia Koidula's ''Saaremaa Onupoeg'' ("The cousin from S ...

, the oldest theatre of Estonia, and later on as a producer of radio plays in the Estonian broadcasting industry. Several of his films were released and have since gained great critical acclaim.

Writer and filmmaker

After a trip to the

Tian Shan The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...

Mountains in Central Asia and the old Islamic centres in the Kara Kum Desert in 1958, Lennart Meri wrote his first book, which met with a warm reception from the public. Already as a student, Lennart Meri had been able to earn his living with his writing, after his father had been arrested by the Soviet authorities for the third time. With the help of his younger brother who had been forced to leave his studies and take a job as a taxi driver, he managed to support their mother and to complete his own studies. The film '' The Winds of the Milky Way'' (Estonian: ''Linnutee tuuled''), shot in co-operation with Finland and Hungary, was banned in the Soviet Union, but won a silver medal at the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...

. In Finnish schools, his films and texts were used as study materials. In 1986, Lennart Meri was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from

Helsinki University The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Tsar Al ...

. He became a member of the Estonian Writers' Union in 1963. In the 1970s, he was elected an Honorary Member of the Finnish Literary Society. ''Tulemägede Maale'', created in 1964, which is translated as ''To the Land of Fiery Mountains'', chronicled Meri's journey to the

Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...

in the 1960s. Other members of his expedition group included well known scientists Harry Ling, Kaarel Orviku, Erast Parmasto, Ants Raik, Anto Raukas, Hans Trass, the artist Kaljo Polli, and filmmaker Hans Roosipuu. "Traveling is the only passion that doesn't need to feel shy in front of intellect," wrote Meri. Urban people still have an inner urge to see the world, hunger for nature. Meri did not underestimate the drawbacks of mass tourism but concluded that "science will liberate us from the chains of big cities and lead us back to nature". Meri's travel book of his journey to the northeast passage, ''Virmaliste Väraval'' (At the Gate of the Northern Lights) (1974), won him huge success in the Soviet Union. It was translated into Finnish in 1977 in the Soviet Writers series, which also introduced to Finnish readers works by the Estonian writers Mats Traat,

Lilli Promet Lilli Promet (16 February 1922 – 16 February 2007) was an Estonian author. Life Promet was born in Petseri to the Estonian painter Aleksander Promet. After graduating from Tallinn Primary School No. 18, she entered the State Industrial Art S ...

, and

Ülo Tuulik Ülo Tuulik (born 22 February 1940, in Abruka Island, Saare County) is an Estonian writer. In 1963, he graduated from University of Tartu, Tartu State University in philology. From 1964-1966, he was the chairman of Young Authors' Association in T ...

. In the book Meri combined the present with a perspective into history, and used material from such explorers as

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * C ...

, Forster, Wrangel, Dahl, Sauer, Middendorff, Cochran, and others. When he sees a mountain rising against the stormy sky of the Bering Strait, he realizes that

Vitus Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering ( , , ; baptised 5 August 1681 – 19 December 1741),All dates are here given in the Julian calendar, which was in use throughout Russia at the time. also known as Ivan Ivanovich Bering (), was a Danish-born Russia ...

and

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

had looked at the same mountain, but from the other side of the strait. Meri's best known work is perhaps ''Hõbevalge'', published in 1976 (English translation ''Silverwhite: The Journey to the Fallen Sun'' by Adam Cullen, published in 2025). It reconstructs the history of Estonia (largely refuted by modern geneticists) and the Baltic Sea region. As in his other works, Meri combines documentary sources and scientific research with his imagination. "If geography is prose, maps are iconography," Meri writes. ''Hõbevalge'' is based on a wide-ranging ancient seafaring sources, and carefully unveils the secret of the legendary Ultima Thule. The name was given in classical times to the most northerly land, reputedly six days' voyage from Britain. Several alternative places for its location have been suggested, among them the Shetland Islands, Iceland, and Norway. According to Meri, it is possible that Thule derives from the ancient Estonian folk poetry, which depicts the birth of the

Kaali crater Kaali is a group of nine meteorite craters in the village of Kaali on the Estonian island of Saaremaa. Most recent estimates put its formation shortly after 1530–1450 BC (3237 ± 10 14C yr BP). It was created by an impact event and is one ...

lake in

Saaremaa Saaremaa (; ) is the largest and most populous island in Estonia. Measuring , its population is 31,435 (as of January 2020). The main island of the West Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago), it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hi ...

. In the essay ''Tacituse tahtel'' (2000), Meri examined ancient contacts between Estonia and the Roman empire and notes that furs, amber, and especially Livonian kiln-dried, disease-free grain may have been Estonia's biggest contribution to the common culture of Europe – in lean years, it provided seed grain for Europe. Meri founded the non-governmental Estonian Institute (''Eesti Instituut'') in 1988 to promote cultural contacts with the West and to send Estonian students to study abroad. He appeared in the documentary film '' The Singing Revolution'' as an interviewee discussing the collapse of the Soviet regime.

Political activity

After more than twenty years of refusals, the Soviet administration finally gave permission for Lennart Meri to travel beyond the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

in the late 1970s, and Meri persistently used the opportunities open to him in Finland to remind the Western world of the existence of Estonia. He established close relationships with politicians, journalists and Estonians who had fled from the occupation. He was the first Estonian to publicize abroad the protests against the Soviet plan of mining

phosphorite Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentoxi ...

in Estonia (known as the Phosphorite War), which would have rendered a portion of the country uninhabitable. In Estonia, environmental protests soon grew into a general revolt against Soviet rule: the "

Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The term was coined by a ...

", which was led by Estonian intellectuals. Meri's speech ''Do Estonians Have Hope'' focused on the existential problems of the nation and had strong repercussions abroad. In 1988, Meri became a founding member of the Estonian Popular Front, which cooperated with its counterparts in Latvia and Lithuania.

Foreign minister (1990–1992)

After the first non-communist-style multi-party election in 1990, Meri was appointed to the post of Foreign Minister. As

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

, Lennart Meri's first task was to create the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. He developed around him a group of well educated young people, many English speaking, to establish an open communication channel to the West, and at the same time to represent Estonia more widely on the international scene. He participated in the CSCE Conferences in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, New York, Paris, Berlin and Moscow, and the foundation conference of the Council of the Baltic Sea Countries. He also had several meetings with American and European Heads of State and Foreign Ministers, and was the first Eastern European guest to give a presentation at

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Headquarters in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. In 1992, Lennart Meri, together with 9 Baltic Ministers of Foreign Affairs and an EU commissioner, founded the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and the EuroFaculty.

First presidential term (1992–1996)

After a brief period as Ambassador of Estonia to Finland, on 6 October 1992 he became the 2nd President of Estonia, and the first since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Meri was the candidate of the Pro Patria Union. For the only time since the restoration of independence, the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

had a popular vote component.

Arnold Rüütel Arnold Rüütel (, 10 May 1928 – 31 December 2024) was an Estonian politician. He was the third President of Estonia from 8 October 2001 to 9 October 2006. Rüütel was the second president of the country after the end of the 1944–1991 Sovie ...

, a former leading communist and chairman of the Supreme Council (as the Estonian Supreme Soviet had been renamed following independence), led the field with 42 per cent to Meri's 29 percent. With no candidate receiving a majority, the election was decided in the newly elected

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (, from Estonian ''riigi-'', "of the state", and ''kogu'', "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chi ...

, which was dominated by the Pro Patria Alliance. During the campaign, some of his opponents tried to bring up questions about Meri's alleged former links with the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

. However, these allegations did not harm Meri's reputation and public image. Lennart Meri was sworn in as the President on 6 October 1992. Meri made public remarks against the Karaganov Doctrine on 25 February 1994 in a festival speech to the good

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

ers, who descended from the trade barons of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

. Karaganov generated his doctrine in about 1992, and it states that Moscow should pose as the defender of human rights of ethnic Russians living in the 'near abroad' for the purpose of gaining political influence in these regions. Already in 1992 this idea was brought into

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

politics by

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

. In 1994, the Estonian Newspaper Association declared Meri the Year's Press Friend. This was the first time this award was given; since that, it has been a yearly occurrence.Eesti Ajalehtede Liit 3 December 1998
Ajalehtede Liit valis viiendaks pressisőbraks president Meri
In 1998, Meri was given the complementary award and titled the Year's Press Friend.

Second presidential term (1996–2001)

On 20 September 1996, he was re-elected for a second and final term. In 1999, Meri was once again given the Press Friend award.Eesti Ajalehtede Liit 3 December 1999

He was a member of Club of Madrid.

Work for German refugees and for other victims of ethnic cleansing

Lennart Meri was engaged in the work for the human rights of German refugees from Central and Eastern Europe and other victims of

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...

in Europe, and was a member of the jury of the

Franz Werfel Human Rights Award The Franz Werfel Human Rights Award () is a human rights award of the German Federation of Expellees' Centre Against Expulsions project. It is awarded to individuals or groups in Europe who, through political, artistic, philosophical or practical ...

, which was awarded by the Centre Against Expulsions (). In 1999 he received the highest distinction of the Federation of Expellees ().

Personal life

Meri was married twice. His second wife Helle Meri (1949−2024) worked as an actress in the

Estonian Drama Theatre The Estonian Drama Theatre () is a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia. It has the role of a national theatre for Estonia. The Estonia Theatre is located next door. History The building that houses the Estonian Drama Theatre was originally built for the ...

until 1992. Lennart Meri's first wife Regina Meri (1932−2020) emigrated to Canada in 1987. Lennart Meri was survived by three children: sons Mart Meri (born in 1959) and Kristjan Meri (1966–2022) and daughter Tuule Meri (born in 1985), and five grandchildren. His first cousin was the Estonian Soviet soldier Arnold Meri, who spent the last 2 years of his life on trial under charges of

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

for his involvement in deportations of Estonians, but died in 2009 before a verdict was given. Meri was chosen the European of the Year in 1998 by French newspaper '' La Vie''.

Death

Diagnosed with a brain tumor in mid-2005 after experiencing strong headaches, Meri underwent surgery in August. The tumor was found to be malignant and he died on the morning of 14 March 2006, fifteen days before his 77th birthday, after being hospitalized in Tallinn for months. In a televised national speech, his successor, President

, said, "In his nine years as head of state, Meri both restored the presidency and built up the Republic of Estonia in the widest sense." Finnish President

Tarja Halonen Tarja Kaarina Halonen (, born 24 December 1943) is a Finns, Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland, and the first and to date only woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer wit ...

stated, "The Finnish nation lost in Lennart Meri a close and sincere friend and the world, a great statesman who was one of the leading architects of the post-Cold War world." Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga said, "the world has lost a great Estonian, a great statesman and a true European." Meri's funeral was attended by former Swedish premier

Carl Bildt Nils Daniel Carl Bildt (born 15 July 1949) is a Swedish politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994. He led the Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999, appearing as its lead candidate in four general elections, b ...

, among other figures. He was buried at Forest Cemetery in the Tallinn district of

Pirita Pirita is one of the eight administrative districts () of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Pirita occupies a relatively large area, but compared to other districts of Tallinn its population of 17,592 (as of 1 November 2014) is relatively small. ...

Legacy

Lennart Meri was one of the most popularly respected presidents in Estonian history. Tallinn Airport was renamed in 2009 Lennart Meri Tallinn International Airport in his honour.

Awards and decorations

*Merited Writer of Estonian SSR (1979) *Correspondent member of the European Academy of Science, Art and Literature (1989) *Honorary Doctor of Helsinki University (1986) *

Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberalism, liberal political parties. The political international was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal and progressive democratic parties aim ...

and Coudenhove-Kalergi award *Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

presented by Awards Council member and President of Latvia, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga (2002) * (2006)

Honours

* : Collar of the

Order of the National Coat of Arms The Order of the National Coat of Arms (, ) was instituted by Konstantin Päts on 7 October 1936 to commemorate 24 February 1918, the day on which Estonian independence was declared. The Order of the National Coat of Arms is bestowed only on Est ...

(Posthumous 2008) * : 1st Class of the

(2006) * : Collar of the

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (, also the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of the Estonian state. (The Latin name ''Terra Mariana'' ...

(1995) * : Grand Cross of the Order of Jordanian Revival (1993) * : Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...

(1994) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all ...

with collar (1995) * : Knight of the

Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim (; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the ...

(1995) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Aztec Eagle The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle () forms part of the Mexican Honors System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners. History It was created by decree on December 29, 1933, by President Abelardo L. Rodríguez as a reward to ...

(1995) * : 1st Class of the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

with collar (1996) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit () is the fourth highest Order (honour), State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the Order of ...

(1997) * : Knight of the Order of the Golden Star of Liberty (1997) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

(1997) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of Vytautas the Great The Order of Vytautas the Great () is the Lithuanian Presidential Award.''Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija. 84 straipsnis''. Priimta 1992 It may be conferred on the heads of Lithuania and foreign states, as well as their citizens, for distinguish ...

(19 August 1997)Lithuanian Presidency
, Lithuanian Orders searching form Lennart Meri grafiti Tartus

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

(1998) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

(1998) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Eagle (Poland) The Order of the White Eagle () is the highest honour of the Poland, Republic of Poland and formerly the Second Polish Republic and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and one of the oldest state decorations in the world still in use. It was o ...

(1998) * : Grand Cross of the Order of the Saviour (1999) * : Grand Cross Special Class of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(2000) * : Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit of the Republic of Malta with collar (2001) * : Grand Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(2001)

Bibliography

* 1964 – "Tulemägede maale" (To the Land of Fiery Mountains) * 1974 – "Virmaliste väraval" (At the Gate of Northern Light) * 1976 – "Hõbevalge" (Silverwhite) * 1977 – "Lähenevad rannad" (Nearing Shores) * 1984 – "Hõbevalgem"

Notes

References

Lennart Meri, portrait of a President – Baltic States City Paper

Encyclopædia Britannica Lennart Meri
* ''Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations'', Volume 6: World Leaders, 10th ed. Gale Group, 2001.

External links

BBC article "Estonia mourns ex-president Meri"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meri, Lennart 1929 births 2006 deaths Politicians from Tallinn Writers from Tallinn Estonian people of Swedish descent Presidents of Estonia Ministers of foreign affairs of Estonia Ambassadors of Estonia to Finland Estonian screenwriters Estonian non-fiction writers Translators from Russian Translators to Estonian 20th-century screenwriters Soviet dissidents 20th-century Estonian politicians 20th-century Estonian writers 20th-century Estonian translators People of the Singing Revolution Lycée Janson-de-Sailly alumni University of Tartu alumni Members of the Estonian Academy of Sciences Honoured Writers of the Estonian SSR Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 1st Class Recipients of the Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana Grand Crosses of the Order of Vytautas the Great Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Collars of the Order of the White Lion Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (civil) Recipients of the Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Recipients of the National Order of Merit (Malta) Deaths from brain cancer in Estonia Burials at Metsakalmistu 20th-century presidents in Europe Restoration of the independence of the Baltic states