Lennart MERI Former President, Republic of Estonia, Tallinn

1953	graduated from the Faculty of History and Languages of Tartu University
	worked as dramatist and producer of radio plays in the Estonian broadcasting
1958	wrote his first book after trip to Central Asia and old Islamic centrs in the Kara-Kum Desert
	many books and films on more travels followed and were translated into a dozen languages
	significantly contributed to the preservation of the Estonian national identity; first to take protest abroad against Soviet plan of mining phosphate in Estonia (later: the "Singing Revolution")
1988	founded non-governmental Estonian Institute to promote cultural contacts with the West & send Estonian students to study abroad
1990	appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs after the first non-communist elections
	participated in the CSCE Conferences in Copenhagen, New York,

1963 Estonian Writers' Union

1970s Honorary Member of the Finnish Literary Society
1986 awarded the Honorary Doctorate of the Helsinki University

Keynote Addresses