Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at the funeral of President Lennart Meri in Kadriorg, 26 March 2006

Dear family members of President Lennart Meri, esteemed President and Mrs. Rüütel, and beloved people of Estonia,

It is with profound sadness that we have come here today to witness the last journey of President Lennart Meri. With his passing, his family has lost a loved one, the people of Estonia have lost a great statesman, and the people of Finland have lost a loyal friend.

Though we miss him and mourn him, we are comforted by fond memories of a person who was truly unique. He was a man who achieved much during his lifetime. Lennart Meri was a deep-thinking humanist who had a very special affinity with the Finno-Ugric peoples. Tirelessly, he worked to improve the prosperity and well-being of the people of Estonia.

Lennart Meri was a charming personality whom it was impossible not to warm to. For us Finns, he was a fascinating cousin, a cosmopolitan and an artist. For us, he was the new Estonia. Lennart Meri was a person who was able to translate difficulties that he had faced in his life into strengths in his personality and into the encouragement to his fellow-men. He had the ability to live each moment to its fullest and to transfer his enthusiasm to others to achieve shared goals.

The events, which led to the new independence of Estonia, linked the fate of our neighbouring country even closer to the history of Finland. At the time of the new independence of his country, Lennart Meri was in Helsinki. There he, as Foreign Minister, sat in a black car flying the blue-black-white Estonian flag for the first time. We remember well his words on this occasion: “I leaned back into the corner of the car and realized what happiness it is, that one can identify the happiest moment of one’s life before that moment is over.”

Hüvasti, kallis sõber!
Farewell, dear friend.