Former Estonian President Lennart Meri (1929 - 2006)
Personification of Estonian independence had strong ties to Finland
Estonia's former President Lennart Meri died at the age of 76 of a serious illness early Tuesday morning.
Meri served as Estonia's President from 1992 to 2001. Before that he briefly served as Estonia's Foreign Minister and its Ambassador to Finland in 1992.
Meri was seen to be a symbol of Estonia's new independence both at home and abroad, he emphasised European values, while at the same time irritating his political opponents by keeping tight reins on foreign policy while President.
Lennart Meri was also an accomplished documentary film director and a prolific writer, whose books were translated into many languages. In his works, Meri would blend fact and fiction. His ability to make history come alive was considered unique.
Lennart Meri was born in Tallinn on March 29th, 1929. His father, Georg Meri, was an Estonian diplomat, writer, and translator. In the 1930s the family lived in Tallinn, Berlin, and Paris.
In the early phases of the Soviet occupation, the whole family was exiled to Siberia for more than four years. Georg Meri was arrested again in 1950, and was not released from prison until after Stalin's death.
Lennart Meri graduated from the University of Tartu in 1953, with history and languages as his main subjects. At first he worked as a dramaturge, then as a radio journalist, later as an author and scriptwriter and film producer for Tallinnfilm.
His best-known documentary films discuss the past and present of Finno-Ugric peoples.
In 1988 Meri set up the non-governmental Estonian Institute, which helped Estonia open up cultural relations with the West, and sent students to foreign universities.
Meri dedicated himself to politics in the late 1980s, working actively in the "singing revolution", which eventually led to the re-establishment of the country's independence. The revolution culminated in September 1988 at Tallinn's open-air stage of Tallinn, where hundreds of thousands of people gathered.
In the early 1990s Meri served as Estonia's Foreign Minister, and as Ambassador to Finland in Helsinki. In October 1992 he was elected as the first President of the newly-independent Estonia.
During his time as President, Meri helped strengthen Estonia's ties with the European Union and NATO. Russia withdrew its forces from Estonia in 1994, soon after Meri had paid a visit to the Kremlin.
During his Presidency, Lennart Meri was one of Europe's most respected statesmen. Nevertheless, he also faced criticism, and from time to time he was in newspaper headlines, suspected of old links with the KGB.
Meri had long-standing, solid, and warm ties with Finland, which he established already in the early 1960s, when he joined the Estonian Writers' Union.
He was an honorary member of the Finnish Writers' Union, and the Kalevala Society, and a correspondent member of the Finnish Literature Society. The Finnish Cultural Foundation established a grant in his name in 1989.
Lennart Meri was married twice. He has two sons, Mart (1959) and Kristjan (1966), and a daughter Tuule (1985).
Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) commented on the death of Lennart Meri on Tuesday morning. Vanhanen remembers Meri as a very humane person who gave a face to Estonian freedom as the first President.
"Meri was one of those people who created the newly independent Estonia. Estonia became known around the world through him", Vanhanen said during his ongoing visit to New Delhi.
Vanhanen pointed out that during Meri's presidency, relations between Finland and Estonia became exceptionally close.
"Everything that is linked to Estonia's new independence was naturally close to us Finns, but Lennart Meri, through his person, brought relations even closer in an exceptional manner. A deep atmosphere of mutual trust emerged, which has continued ever since."
Vanhanen got to know Meri particularly well during the Convention that drafted the European Union's Constitutional Agreement, as Meri represented Estonia at the convention.
"He was a very warm person who was easily approached, and who always managed to feel interest toward Finland, and especially Finnish culture."
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 14.3.2006 - TODAY |
 Former Estonian President Lennart Meri (1929 - 2006) |
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