Lennart Meri

Lennart got married to Regina Meri, who left for Canada in 1987, returning to Estonia sixteen years later. The couple had a son Mart, who is now a politician, and a daughter, Kristjan.

In 1985, the politician had a daughter, Tuule, with his girlfriend Helle, an actress, who he married seven years later.

This writer and political leader had contributed to the rehabilitation of refugees from Germany and other places, working with several human rights organizations. He was also a representative of the jury of the 'Franz Werfel Human Rights Award', which was presented to felicitate people working against genocide.

In 1958, after travelling to the Kara Kum Desert and the Tian Shan Mountains in Central Asia, Lennart wrote his first book, that was well-received by readers.

He joined the ‘Estonian Writers' Union’ in 1963, and a year later wrote the famous book 'Tulemägede Maale' ('To the Land of Fiery Mountains'). The non-fictional work describes his trip to the Kamchatka Peninsula, taken early that decade.

In 1974, the talented writer penned 'Virmaliste Väraval' ('At the Gate of the Northern Lights'), which spoke about his voyage to the Northeast Passage, bringing him critical acclaim. The book also refers to the observations of other travellers like Cook, Wrangel and Bering.

Two years later, in 1976, he published the famous 'Hõbevalge' ('Silver White'), which deals with the history of his homeland and the surrounding region. Here too, the author resorted to a lot of documented references coupled with rational thinking.

His book 'Virmaliste Väraval' was transliterated into Finnish, in the 'Soviet Writers Series', a compilation which also consisted of works by other Estonian authors like Ülo Tuulik and Mats Traat. The same year, 'Lähenevad rannad' ('Nearing Shores'), a critically appreciated book by Meri, was published.

This former President of Estonia is best known for his book 'Hõbevalge' ('Silver White'), published in 1976. In this work, he attempts at dissecting the legend of ‘Ultima Thule’, a remote region often referred to in classical literature of Europe, and mentioned on ancient maps.

In 1979, this author was named the 'Merited Writer of Estonian SSR'.

He was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1986, from the 'University of Helsinki', in Finland.

French newspaper ‘La Vie’ declared the political leader and author, the ‘European of the Year’, in 1998.

He has received several orders of merits from the governments of Jordan, Poland, Norway, Germany, and Greece, amongst others.

He is also the recipient of the 'Liberal International Prize', which is presented for outstanding contribution to human rights, and the 'Coudenhove-Kalergi Award', given for efforts to promote European integration.