Lennart Meri Tallinn International Airport in his honour
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Lennart Meri
Lennart Georg Meri was an Estonian writer, film director, and statesman. He was the country's foreign minister from 1990 to 1992 and President of Estonia from 1992 to 2001.
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politics · President of Estonia from 1992 to 2001 · linguist · film director · diplomat · screenwriter · translator · writer · politician · historian · philologist · also Lennart Meri, Lennart-Georg Meri, Lennu-taadu, Meri
Born 29 March 1929 · Died 14 March 2006 · Q153149
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2009· 1 entry
2008· 2 entries
Won: Estonia (2008).
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Awarded Collar of the Order of the National Coat of Arms (2008).
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2006· 5 entries
Awarded Recipient of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 1st Class (2006).
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Awarded Coat of Arms of Tallinn (2006).
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Won: Estonia (2006).
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By the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra conducted by famed Estonian conductor Tõnu Kaljuste
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Died 2006-03-14.
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2001· 4 entries
Won: France (2001).
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Awarded National Maltese Order of Merit (2001).
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Awarded Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (2001).
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Won: Malta (2001).
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2000· 2 entries
Awarded Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2000).
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Won: Germany (2000).
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1999· 4 entries
Won: Greece (1999).
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Awarded Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer (1999).
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Meri was once again given the Press Friend award
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Received the highest distinction of the Federation of Expellees (Bund der Vertriebenen)
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1998· 7 entries
Awarded Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (1998).
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Won: Poland (1998).
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Won: Iceland (1998).
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Won: Norway (1998).
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Awarded Order of the White Eagle (1998).
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Awarded Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon (1998).
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Meri was given the complementary award and titled the Year's Press Friend
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1997· 7 entries
Won: Italy (1997).
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Won: Hungary (1997).
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Won: Lithuania (August 1997).
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Awarded Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia (1997).
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Won: Slovenia (1997).
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Awarded Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1997).
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Awarded Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great (1997).
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1996· 2 entries
Won: Latvia (1996).
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Awarded Order of the Three Stars, 1st Class (1996).
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1995· 7 entries
Won: Estonia (1995).
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Awarded Knight of the Seraphim (1995).
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Awarded Order of the Aztec Eagle (1995).
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Awarded Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Rose of Finland (1995).
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Won: Mexico (1995).
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Won: Sweden (1995).
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Won: Finland (1995).
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1994· 3 entries
Awarded Knight of the Order of the Elephant (1994).
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Won: Denmark (1994).
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The Estonian Newspaper Association declared Meri the Year's Press Friend
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1992· 4 entries
Career landmark: President of Estonia (1992–2001).
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This idea was brought into Russian Federation politics by Boris Yeltsin
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Career landmark: ambassador of Estonia to Finland (1992–1992).
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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
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1990· 2 entries
Meri was appointed to the post of Foreign Minister
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Career landmark: Minister of Foreign Affairs (1990–1992).
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1988· 2 entries
To promote cultural contacts with the West and to send Estonian students to study abroad
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Meri became a founding member of the Estonian Popular Front, which cooperated with its counterparts in Latvia and Lithuania
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1986· 1 entry
Lennart Meri was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Helsinki University
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1979· 1 entry
Awarded Honored Writer of the Estonian SSR (1979).
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1977· 1 entry
In the Soviet Writers series, which also introduced to Finnish readers works by the Estonian writers Mats Traat, Lilli Promet, and Ülo Tuulik
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1976· 1 entry
(English translation Silverwhite: The Journey to the Fallen Sun by Adam Cullen, published in 2025)
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1964· 1 entry
Which is translated as To the Land of Fiery Mountains, chronicled Meri's journey to the Kamchatka Peninsula in the 1960s
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1959· 1 entry
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.
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1958· 1 entry
Lennart Meri wrote his first book, which met with a warm reception from the public
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1949· 1 entry
His second wife Helle Meri (1949−2024) worked as an actress in the Estonian Drama Theatre until 1992.
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1941· 1 entry
The Meri family was deported to Siberia along with thousands of other Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians sharing the same fate
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1932· 1 entry
Lennart Meri's first wife Regina Meri (1932−2020) emigrated to Canada in 1987.
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1929· 1 entry
Born 1929-03-29.
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