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{{Short description|President of Estonia from 1992 to 2001}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Lennart  Meri
| nationality         = Estonian
| image               = Lennart Meri, Raekoja platsil 99 (cropped).jpg
| office              = President of Estonia
| order               = 2nd
| term_start          = 6 October 1992
| term_end            = 8 October 2001
| primeminister       = [[Mart Laar]] <br /> [[Andres Tarand]] <br /> [[Tiit Vähi]] <br /> [[Mart Siimann]] <br /> [[Mart Laar]]
| predecessor         = [[Konstantin Päts]]<br />(Last President before [[Soviet occupation of Baltic states|Soviet occupation]] in 1940)<br />[[Heinrich Mark]]<br />(Last [[Estonian government-in-exile|head of state in exile]])<br />[[Arnold Rüütel]]<br />Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia
| successor           = [[Arnold Rüütel]]
| office2             = [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Estonia)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| primeminister2      = [[Edgar Savisaar]] <br /> [[Tiit Vähi]]
| term_start2         = April 1990
| term_end2           = March 1992
| predecessor2        = [[Olev Olesk]] ([[Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs in exile|in exile]])
| successor2          = [[Jaan Manitski]]
| birth_name          = Lennart-Georg Meri
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=y|1929|3|29}}
| birth_place         = [[Tallinn]], Estonia
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=y|2006|3|14|1929|3|29}}
| death_place         = [[Tallinn]], Estonia
| alma_mater          = [[University of Tartu]]
| spouse              = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Regina Ojavere|1953|1982|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Helle Meri|Helle Pihlak]]|1992}}}}
| children            = 3, including [[Mart Meri]]
| party               = [[Pro Patria National Coalition]] (1992–1995)<br />[[Pro Patria Union]] (1995–2001)
| profession          = {{Hlist |Politician|writer|film director}}
| caption             = Meri in 1999
}}

'''Lennart Georg Meri''' ({{IPA|et|ˈlenːɑrtː keˈorːːk ˈmeri|et}}; 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]] from 1992 to 2001.

==Early life==
Meri was born in [[Tallinn]], a son of the Estonian diplomat and later [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] translator [[Georg Meri]], and [[Estonian Swedes|Estonian Swedish]] 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 language|Estonian]], 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]] [[Soviet Union]] in June 1940.<!--Śome of his relatives opposed, some supported the Soviet regime.--><ref>[http://www.balticguide.ee/index.php/a641 Entisen presidentin serkkua syytetään neuvostoajan kyydityksistä] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516180039/http://www.balticguide.ee/index.php/a641 |date=16 May 2006 }} {{in lang|fi}}</ref><!--For example, one of Lennart's cousind [[Arnold Meri]] joined the [[Red Army]] and was soon made a [[Hero of the Soviet Union]].--> In 1941, the Meri family was [[Soviet deportations from Estonia|deported]] to [[Siberia]] along with thousands of other Estonians, [[Latvians]], and [[Lithuanians]] sharing the same fate.<ref name=meridict/> 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 [[lumberjack|lumberman]] in [[Siberia]]. 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]] 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]]'' from the Faculty of History and Languages of the [[University of Tartu]] in 1953. On 5 March 1953, the day of [[Joseph Stalin]]'s [[Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin|death]], he proposed to his first wife Regina Meri, saying "Let us remember this happy day forever." The [[politics of the Soviet Union]] did not allow him to work as a historian, so Meri found work as a dramatist in the [[Vanemuine]], 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==
[[File:Enn Säde ja Lennart Meri 2002.jpg|thumb|[[Enn Säde]] and Lennart Meri in 2002]]
After a trip to the [[Tian Shan]] 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]]. In Finnish schools, his films and texts were used as study materials. In 1986, Lennart Meri was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from [[Helsinki University]]. 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]] 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]], and [[Ülo Tuulik]]. In the book Meri combined the present with a perspective into history, and used material from such explorers as [[James Cook|Cook]], [[Johann Reinhold Forster|Forster]], [[Ferdinand von Wrangel|Wrangel]], Dahl, Sauer, [[Alexander von Middendorff|Middendorff]], Cochran, and others. When he sees a mountain rising against the stormy sky of the Bering Strait, he realizes that [[Vitus Bering]] and [[James Cook]] 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<ref>{{cite web | url=http://news.postimees.ee/4206443/scientists-overturn-meri-s-5-000-years-hypothesis | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915021525/http://news.postimees.ee/4206443/scientists-overturn-meri-s-5-000-years-hypothesis | archive-date=15 September 2017 | title=Scientists overturn Meri's 5,000 years hypothesis | date=10 August 2017 | access-date=8 June 2024 | url-status=live }}</ref>) 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 [[Thule|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]] lake in [[Saaremaa]]. 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==
[[File:Lennart Meri 1929-2006.jpg|thumb|Meri in [[Osnabrück]], Germany, in 1998, 350 years after the [[Peace of Westphalia]]]]
After more than twenty years of refusals, the Soviet administration finally gave permission for Lennart Meri to travel beyond the [[Iron Curtain]] 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]] 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]]", 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 [[Rahvarinne|Estonian Popular Front]], which cooperated with its counterparts in Latvia and Lithuania.

===Foreign minister (1990–1992)===
After the first non-communist-style [[1990 Estonian Supreme Soviet election|multi-party election in 1990]], Meri was appointed to the post of Foreign Minister. As [[Minister of Foreign Affairs]], Lennart Meri's first task was to create the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Estonia)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]. 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 [[Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe|CSCE]] Conferences in [[Copenhagen]], New York, Paris, Berlin and Moscow, and the foundation conference of the [[Baltic Sea|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]] Headquarters in [[Brussels]].

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]].<ref>Kristensen, Gustav N.  2010. Born into a Dream. EuroFaculty and the Council of the Baltic Sea States. Berliner Wissentshafts-Verlag. {{ISBN|978-3-8305-1769-6}}.</ref>

===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 [[1992 Estonian presidential election|election]] had a popular vote component. [[Arnold Rüütel]], 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]], 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]]. 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]]ers, who descended from the trade barons of the [[Hanseatic League]].<ref name="meriaud">{{cite news |title=Lennart Meri Speech Hamburg, Germany February 25, 1994, Matthiae-Supper of Hansa Cities |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennart-meri-speech-hamburg-germany-february-25-1994/id1489492475?i=1000549578895 |access-date=12 February 2023 |agency=Apple Podcasts |publisher=History of Estonia Podcast |first=Lennart |last=Meri}}</ref><ref name="meridict">{{cite news |last1=Meri |first1=Lennart |title=Address by H.E. Lennart Meri, President of the Republic of Estonia, at a Matthiae-Supper in Hamburg on February 25, 1994 |url=https://vp1992-2001.president.ee/eng/k6ned/K6ne.asp?ID=9401 |publisher=Office of the President of the Republic of Estonia |date=25 February 1994 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 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.<ref name=mm>{{cite news |last1=Milosevich |first1=Mira |title=Russia's Westpolitik and the European Union |url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-westpolitik-and-european-union |publisher=Center for Strategic and International Studies |date=8 July 2021 |quote=In 1992, Yeltsin introduced the term “compatriot abroad” (which was suggested by the analyst Sergey Karaganov) to refer to ethnic Russians who now found themselves outside the formal borders of the Russian Federation but had cultural and linguistic ties with Russia.}}</ref><ref name="pugn14">{{cite news |author-link1=Mark MacKinnon |last1=MacKinnon |first1=Mark |title=Sergey Karaganov: The man behind Putin's pugnacity |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/sergey-karaganov-the-man-behind-putins-pugnacity/article17734125/ |publisher=The Globe and Mail Inc |date=30 March 2014}}</ref><ref name="moore17">{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Kevin R. |title=Will the Karaganov Doctrine Turn South? The Potential for Russian Intervention in Northern Kazakhstan |date=2017 |publisher=University of Colorado at Denver |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/a35a1206bd0a55b023cf8468d0c5bd83/}}</ref><ref name="gg16">{{cite news |last1=Gigitashvili |first1=Givi |title="Russian World" Concept and Securitization of Collective Identity |url=https://www.lai.lv/viedokli/russian-world-concept-and-securitization-of-collective-identity-545 |publisher=Latvijas Ārpolitikas Institūts |date=30 September 2016}}</ref> Already in 1992 this idea was brought into [[Russian Federation]] politics by [[Boris Yeltsin]].<ref name=mm/><ref name=djs17>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YaYbzQQN97EC&q=karaganov+doctrine&pg=PA161|title=The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania |first1=David James |last1=Smith |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=9780415285803 |date=2002 |via=Google Books |first2=Thomas |last2=Lane |first3=Artis |last3=Pabriks |first4=Aldis |last4=Purs |author-link3=Artis Pabriks}}</ref>

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.<ref name='press-friend-1998'>Eesti Ajalehtede Liit 3 December 1998: [http://www.eall.ee/uudised/1998/3_12.html Ajalehtede Liit valis viiendaks pressisőbraks president Meri] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204644/http://www.eall.ee/uudised/1998/3_12.html |date=3 March 2016 }}</ref> In 1998, Meri was given the complementary award and titled the Year's Press Friend.<ref name='press-friend-1998'/>

===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.<ref name='friend-1999'>Eesti Ajalehtede Liit 3 December 1999: [http://www.eall.ee/uudised/1999/3_12.html Ajalehtede Liit pidas täiskogu, valis pressisőbra] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208052335/http://www.eall.ee/uudised/1999/3_12.html |date=8 February 2012 }}</ref>

He was a member of [[Club of Madrid]].<ref>[http://www.clubmadrid.org The Club of Madrid]</ref>

==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]] in Europe, and was a member of the jury of the [[Franz Werfel Human Rights Award]], which was awarded by the [[Centre Against Expulsions]] ({{lang|de|Zentrum gegen Vertreibungen}}). In 1999 he received the highest distinction of the [[Federation of Expellees]] ({{lang|de|Bund der Vertriebenen}}).

==Personal life==
Meri was married twice. His second wife [[Helle Meri]] (1949−2024) worked as an actress in the [[Estonian Drama Theatre]] 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]] for his involvement in [[Soviet deportations from Estonia|deportations of Estonians]], but died in 2009 before a verdict was given.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lobjakas |first1=Ahto |title=Estonia's Double Date With History |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/Estonias_Double_Date_With_History/1564394.html |publisher=[[RFE/RL]] |date=30 March 2009}}</ref>

Meri was chosen the European of the Year in 1998 by French newspaper ''[[La Vie (magazine)|La Vie]]''.

==Death==
[[File:Lennart Merin muistopaikka.jpg|thumb|Meri's grave at [[Metsakalmistu|Forest Cemetery]] in Tallinn.]]
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 [[Arnold Rüütel]], 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]] 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4806218.stm |title=Europe &#124; Estonia mourns ex-president Meri |publisher=BBC News |date=14 March 2006 |access-date=23 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/14/AR2006031400074.html |website=www.washingtonpost.com |access-date=15 January 2022 }}</ref> Meri's funeral was also attended by former Swedish premier [[Carl Bildt]], among other figures. 

Meri had expressed his wish that music by world-famous Estonian composer, [[Arvo Pärt]], be played at his memorial service (the two men had been friends in their youth).  The composer responded by writing ''Für Lennart in memoriam'' for string orchestra and the work was performed at the funeral service in [[Charles's Church, Tallinn|Charles's Church]] on March 26, 2006 by the [[Tallinn Chamber Orchestra]] conducted by famed Estonian conductor [[Tõnu Kaljuste]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Für Lennart in memoriam – Arvo Pärt Centre |url=https://www.arvopart.ee/en/arvo-part/work/ |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=www.arvopart.ee |language=en-US}}</ref> Meri was buried at [[Metsakalmistu|Forest Cemetery]] in the Tallinn district of [[Pirita]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bildt.blogspot.com/2006/03/aith-lennart-ja-huvasti.html |title=Bildt Comments: Aitäh, Lennart! Ja huvasti |publisher=Bildt.blogspot.com |date=26 March 2006 |access-date=23 December 2012}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:15-08-14-Tallinn-RalfR-063.jpg|thumb|150px|Relief of Meri at the [[Tallinn Airport]]]]
Lennart Meri was one of the most popularly respected presidents in Estonian history.<ref>[https://estonianworld.com/people/lennart-meri-the-president-many-loved-and-everybody-respected/ Lennart Meri, the president many loved, and everybody respected – Estonian World]</ref> Tallinn Airport was renamed in 2009 [[Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport|Lennart Meri Tallinn International Airport]] in his honour.<ref>[[Eesti Ekspress]] 19 March 2009:[http://www.ekspress.ee/2009/03/19/eesti-uudised/40464-lennart-meri-nimi-lennujaama-katusel-maksnuks-miljon-krooni Lennart Meri nimi lennujaama katusel maksnuks miljon krooni] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322193356/http://www.ekspress.ee/2009/03/19/eesti-uudised/40464-lennart-meri-nimi-lennujaama-katusel-maksnuks-miljon-krooni |date=22 March 2009 }}</ref>

==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]] and [[Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi|Coudenhove-Kalergi]] award
*Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] presented by Awards Council member and President of Latvia, [[Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga]] (2002)<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#public-service}}</ref>
*{{ill|Order of the Tallinn Coat of Arms|et|Tallinna vapimärk}} (2006)

==Honours==
* {{flag|Estonia}}: Collar of the [[Order of the National Coat of Arms]] (Posthumous 2008)
* {{flag|Estonia}}: 1st Class of the [[Order of the National Coat of Arms]] (2006)
* {{flag|Estonia}} : Collar of the [[Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana]] (1995)
* {{flag|Denmark}}: Knight of the [[Order of the Elephant]] (1994)
* {{flag|Finland}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of the White Rose]] with collar (1995)
* {{flag|Sweden}}: Knight of the [[Order of the Seraphim]] (1995)
* {{flag|Mexico}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Aztec Eagle]] (1995)
* {{flag|Latvia}}: 1st Class of the [[Order of the Three Stars]] with collar (1996)
* {{flag|Hungary}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary]] (1997)
* {{flag|Slovenia}}: Knight of the [[Order of the Golden Star of Liberty]] (1997)
* {{flag|Italy}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic]] (1997)
* {{flag|Lithuania}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Vytautas the Great]] (19 August 1997)<ref>[http://www.lrp.lt/lt/prezidento_veikla/apdovanojimai/apdovanojimai_256/p40.html Lithuanian Presidency] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419212238/http://www.lrp.lt/lt/prezidento_veikla/apdovanojimai/apdovanojimai_256/p40.html |date=19 April 2014 }}, Lithuanian Orders searching form</ref>
[[File:Lennart Meri grafiti Tartus.jpg|thumb|Graffiti of Meri in [[Tartu]], 2015]]
* {{flag|Norway}}: Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of St. Olav]] (1998)
* {{flag|Iceland}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Falcon]] (1998)
* {{flag|Poland}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of the White Eagle (Poland)]] (1998)
* {{flag|Greece}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Saviour]] (1999)
* {{flag|Germany}}: Grand Cross Special Class of the [[Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]] (2000)
* {{flag|Malta}}: Grand Cross of the [[National Order of Merit of the Republic of Malta]] with collar (2001)
* {{flag|France}}: Grand Cross of the [[Legion of Honour]] (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==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081028020352/http://www.balticsww.com/news/features/meri__portrait.htm Lennart Meri, portrait of a President – Baltic States City Paper]
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9218415 Encyclopædia Britannica Lennart Meri]
* ''Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations'', Volume 6: World Leaders, 10th ed. Gale Group, 2001.

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.president.ee/et/eesti-vabariik/eesti-riigipead/4127-lennart-meri/layout-headofstate.html Lennart Meri on official site of the President of Estonia]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4806218.stm BBC article "Estonia mourns ex-president Meri"]
* {{Books and Writers |id=lmeri |name=Lennart Meri}}

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{{succession box | before=[[Olev Olesk]] (in exile) | title=[[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Estonia)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] | years=1990–1992| after=[[Jaan Manitski]]}}
{{succession box | before=[[Heinrich Mark]] (Prime Minister in the duties of the President in Exile) | title=[[President of Estonia]] | years=1992–2001 | after= [[Arnold Rüütel]]}}
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{{Estonia Presidents}}
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{{Portal bar|Biography|Estonia|Politics}}

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