# Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana

The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (Estonian: Maarjamaa Risti teenetemärk, also the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of the Estonian state. (The Latin name Terra Mariana, meaning the "Land of Mary" was the official name for Medieval Livonia and designated the area which includes what is now Latvia and southern Estonia in medieval times.)
The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana is bestowed upon the President of the Republic. Presidents of the Republic who have ceased to hold office keep the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana. The Collar of the Order was used de facto as the badge of office of the President of the Republic, since Soviet authorities took the original presidential collar, that of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, out of Estonia after the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940; it remains as of 2023 in the Kremlin in Moscow. A new collar of that order was made in 2008.
The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana is also given as a decoration of the highest class to foreigners who have rendered special services to the Republic of Estonia. As such it is the highest and most distinguished order granted by Estonia to non-Estonian citizens.

## Classes

The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana comprises six classes:
* One special class – The Collar of the Cross of Terra Mariana;
* Five basic classes – 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th class.
The crosses and shields of all the classes of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana have the same design and are of the same size.
The blue colour tone of the moiré ribands belonging to the decorations of all the classes of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana is determined according to the international PANTONE colour-table as 300 C.

## Notable recipients
### Recipients of the Collar

The recipients are :

#### Estonian presidents

* President Lennart Meri (1992–2001), 10.09.1995 (Serie 5 – n° ?)
* President Arnold Rüütel (2001–2006), 08.10.2001 (Serie 270 – n° 1138)
* President Toomas Hendrik Ilves (2006–2016), 09.10.2006 (Serie 692 – n° 1071)
* President Kersti Kaljulaid (2016-2021), 10.10.2016
* President Alar Karis (2021-)

#### Foreign heads of state

| Country | Recipient | Date of reception | Serie number | Decision : number & date |
| Awarded by President Lennart Meri ( 6 October 1992 – 8 October 2001 ) |||||
| Finland | Pres. Martti Ahtisaari | 16.05.1995 | 1 | 547 |
| Sweden | King Carl XVI Gustaf | 11.09.1995 | 11 | 608 |
| Mexico | Pres. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León | 27.10.1995 | 22 | 624 |
| Denmark | Queen Margrethe II | 28.11.1995 | 23 | 640 |
| Czech Republic | Pres. Václav Havel | 24.02.1997 | 37 | 725 (30.05.1996) |
| Latvia | Pres. Guntis Ulmanis | 23.10.1996 | 39 | 6 |
| Hungary | Pres. Árpád Göncz | 13.05.1997 | 49 | 134 |
| Slovenia | Pres. Milan Kučan | 16.05.1997 | 50 | 134 |
| Italy | Pres. Oscar Luigi Scalfaro | 22.05.1997 | 51 | 144 |
| Turkey | Pres. Süleyman Demirel | 20.05.1997 | 52 | 144 |
| Lithuania | Pres. Algirdas Brazauskas | 20.08.1997 | 55 | 177 |
| Poland | Pres. Aleksander Kwaśniewski | 28.04.1998 | 72 | 320 |
| Iceland | Pres. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson | 08.06.1998 | 73 | 351 |
| Norway | King Harald V | 31.08.1998 | 75 | 397 |
| Greece | Pres. Konstantinos Stephanopoulos | 24.05.1999 | 99 | 586 |
| Lithuania | Pres. Valdas Adamkus | 24.09.1999 | 102 | 632 |
| Latvia | Pres. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga | 02.05.2000 | 121 | 780 |
| Finland | Pres. Tarja Halonen | 16.05.2000 | 123 | 788 |
| Germany | Pres. Johannes Rau | 07.11.2000 | 131 | 914 |
| Hungary | President Ferenc Mádl | 12.12.2000 | 177 | 944 |
| Malta | President Guido de Marco | 02.05.2001 | 233 | 1049 |
| Ireland | President Mary McAleese | 24.05.2001 | 241 | 1057 |
| France | President Jacques Chirac | 23.07.2001 | 243 | 1124 |
| Awarded by President Arnold Rüütel ( 8 October 2001 – 9 October 2006 ) |||||
| Turkey | President Ahmet Necdet Sezer | 18.04.2002 | 377 | 141 |
| Luxembourg | Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg | 05.05.2003 | 416 | 332 |
| Portugal | President Jorge Sampaio | 12.05.2003 | 417 | 408 ( 08.05.2003 ) |
| Bulgaria | President Georgi Parvanov | 11.06.2003 | 435 | 414 |
| Romania | President Ion Iliescu | 23.10.2003 | 446 | 451 |
| Cyprus | President Tassos Papadopoulos | 08.01.2004 | 449 | 451 |
| Italy | President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi | 20.04.2004 | 498 | 581 |
| Slovakia | President Ivan Gašparovič | 12.10.2005 | 599 | 896 |
| Hungary | President László Sólyom | 27.03.2006 | 688 | 994 |
| Awarded by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves ( 9 October 2006 – 10 October 2016 ) |||||
| United Kingdom | Queen Elizabeth II | 19.10.2006 | 693 | 2 |
| Georgia | President Mikheil Saakashvili | 07.05.2007 | 739 | 148 |
| Japan | Emperor Akihito | 24.05.2007 | 740 | 150 |
| Spain | King Juan Carlos I | 09.07.2007 | 741 | 168 |
| Portugal | President Aníbal Cavaco Silva | 24.09.2008 | 783 | 269 |
| Netherlands | Queen (now Princess) Beatrix | 14.05.2008 | 824 | 280 |
| Belgium | King Albert II | 10.06.2008 | 837 | 290 |
| Latvia | President Valdis Zatlers | 07.04.2009 | 872 | 460 |
| Romania | President Traian Băsescu | 12.04.2011 | 968 | 881 |
| Kazakhstan | President Nursultan Nazarbayev | 20.04.2011 | 970 | 885 |
| Malta | President George Abela | 31.05.2012 | 988 | 98 |
| Latvia | President Andris Bērziņš | 05.06.2012 | 1001 | 99 |
| Lithuania | President Dalia Grybauskaitė | 27.05.2013 | 1045 | 266 |
| Germany | President Joachim Gauck | 03.07.2013 | 1087 | 305 |
| Finland | President Sauli Niinistö | 09.05.2014 | 1150 | 429 |
| Slovakia | President Andrej Kiska | 19.10.2015 | 1233 | 682 |
| Awarded by President Kersti Kaljulaid ( 10 October 2016 – 11 October 2021) |||||
| Netherlands | King Willem-Alexander | 12.06.2018 | 1283 | 265 |
| Italy | President Sergio Mattarella | 04.07.2018 | 1298 | 294 |
| Latvia | President Raimonds Vējonis | 10.04.2019 | 1324 | 440 |
| Portugal | President Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa | 15.04.2019 | 1339 | 442 |
| Slovenia | President Borut Pahor | 02.09.2019 | 1344 | 473 |
| Austria | President Alexander Van der Bellen | 21.05.2021 | 1368 | 744 |
| Romania | President Klaus Iohannis | 15.06.2021 | 1370 | 755 |
| Awarded by President Alar Karis ( 11 October 2021- ) |||||
| Latvia | President Egils Levits | 19.04.2023 | 1400 | 300 |
| Finland | President Alexander Stubb | 23.05.2024 | 1444 | 412 |

### Recipients of the First Class

The recipients are :

#### Former foreign heads of state and government

These decorations are awarded for targeted reasons :
| Country | Recipient | Date of reception | Serie number | Decision : number & date |
| Awarded by President Lennart Meri (6 October 1992 – 8 October 2001) |||||
| United States | Former President Gerald Rudolph Ford | 07.01.1997 | 29 | 683 (16.02.1996 ) |
| Sweden | Carl Bildt, politician, Former Prime Minister (1991–94) | 25.07.1996 | 36 | 725 (30.05.1996) |
| Germany | Former President Roman Herzog (1994–99) | 20.03.2001 | 104 | 730 (08.02.2000) |
| Awarded by President Arnold Rüütel (8 October 2001 – 9 October 2006) |||||
| Finland | Mauno Henrik Koivisto, former president (1982–1994) | 20.11.2001 | 271 | 30 ( 16.11.2001) |
| Finland | Esko Tapani Aho, Former Prime Minister, for supporting quest of independence | 23.02.2003 | 381 | 332 (03.02.2003) |
| Ireland | Garret FitzGerald, former Prime Minister | 22.05.2003 | 383 | 332 (03.02.2003) |
| Denmark | Poul Holmskov Schlüter, Former Prime Minister (1982-1993), for supporting quest of independence | 24.02.2003 | 387 | 332 (03.02.2003) |
| United States | George Herbert Walker Bush, for supporting quest to independence | 15.09.2005 | 524 | 775 (02.02.2005) |
| Germany | Richard von Weizsäcker, former president (1984–94), for supporting quest to independence | 09.06.2005 | 529 | 775 (02.02.2005) |
| United States | Bill Clinton, former president (1993–2001), for supporting adhesion to NATO | ? | 634 | 976 (06.02.2006 ) |
| Germany | Helmut Kohl, Former Chancellor (1982–98), for supporting quest to independence | 03.04.2006 | 635 | 976 (06.02.2006) |
| Poland | Lech Wałęsa, former president (1990–95), for supporting quest to independence | 23.02.2006 | 636 | 976 (06.02.2006) |
| Awarded by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves ( 9 October 2006 – 10 October 2016 ) |||||
| United States | George Walker Bush, former President | ? | 973 | 48 (01.02.2012) |
| Awarded by President Kersti Kaljulaid ( 10 October 2016 – 11 October 2021 ) |||||

#### Consorts of foreign heads of state and royalties

| Country | Recipient | Date of reception | Serie number | Decision : number & date |
| Awarded by President Lennart Meri ( 6 October 1992 – 8 October 2001 ) |||||
| Finland | Eeva Ahtisaari, née Hyvärinen, President Martti Ahtisaari's wife | 16.05.1995 | 2 | 547 ( 16.05.1995 ) |
| Sweden | Queen Silvia of Sweden | 11.09.1995 | 12 | 608 ( 08.09.1995 ) |
| Sweden | Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden | 11.09.1995 | 13 | 608 ( 08.09.1995 ) |
| Sweden | Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland | 11.09.1995 | 14 | 608 ( 08.09.1995 ) |
| Sweden | Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland | 11.09.1995 | 15 | 608 ( 08.09.1995 ) |
| Denmark | Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark | 28.11.1995 | 25 | 640 ( 20.11.1995 ) |
| Denmark | Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark | 28.11.1995 | 24 | 640 ( 20.11.1995 ) |
| Norway | Queen Sonja of Norway | 31.08.1998 | 76 | 397 ( 24.08.1998 ) |
| Latvia | Imants Freibergs, President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga's husband | 02.05.2000 | 122 | 780 ( 27.04.2000 ) |
| Finland | Pentti Arajärvi, President Tarja Halonen's husband | 16.05.2000 | 124 | 788 ( 04.05.2000 ) |
| Germany | Christina Rau, President Johannes Rau's wife | 07.11.2000 | 132 | 914 ( 02.11.2000 ) |
| Hungary | Dalma Mádl, President Ferenc Mádl's wife | 12.12.2000 | 178 | 944 ( 01.12.2000 ) |
| Malta | Violet de Marco, President Guido de Marco's wife | 02.05.2001 | 234 | 1049 ( 24.04.2001 ) |
| Ireland | Martin McAleese, President Mary McAleese's husband | 24.05.2001 | 242 | 1057 ( 15.05.2001 ) |
| Awarded by President Arnold Rüütel (8 October 2001 – 9 October 2006) |||||
| Finland | Taimi Tellervo Koivisto, President Mauno Henrik Koivisto's wife | 20.11.2001 | 272 | 30 ( 16.11.2001 ) |
| Poland | Jolanta Kwaśniewska, President Aleksander Kwaśniewski's wife : | 18.03.2002 | 337 | 121 ( 13.03.2002 ) |
| Norway | Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway | 10.04.2002 | 356 | 137 ( 02.04.2002 ) |
| Norway | Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway | 10.04.2002 | 357 | 137 ( 02.04.2002 ) |
| Portugal | Maria José Rodrigues Ritta, President Jorge Sampaio's wife : | 12.05.2003 | 418 | 408 ( 08.05.2003 ) |
| Bulgaria | Zorka Petrova Parvanova, President Georgi Parvanov's wife : | 11.06.2003 | 436 | 414 ( 30.05.2003 ) |
| Awarded by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves (9 October 2006 – 10 October 2016) |||||
| Spain | Sofia of Spain | 09.07.2007 | 742 | 168 ( 05.07.2007 ) |
| Spain | Felipe, Prince of Asturias | 09.07.2007 | 743 | 168 ( 05.07.2007 ) |
| Spain | Letizia, Princess of Asturias | 09.07.2007 | 744 | 168 ( 05.07.2007 ) |
| Belgium | Queen Paola of Belgium | 10.06.2008 | 838 | 290 ( 05.06.2008 ) |
| Latvia | Lilita Zatlere, President Valdis Zatlers's wife : | 07.04.2009 | 873 | 460 ( 02.04.2009 ) |
| Sweden | Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland | 18.01.2011 | 906 | 807 ( 12.01.2011 ) |
| Sweden | Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland | 18.01.2011 | 907 | 807 ( 12.01.2011 ) |
| Romania | Maria Băsescu, President Traian Băsescu's wife | 12.04.2011 | 969 | 881 ( 06.04.2011 ) |
| Malta | Margaret Abela, President George Abela's wife | 31.05.2012 | 989 | 98 ( 29.05.2012 ) |
| Latvia | Dace Seisuma, President Andris Bērziņš's wife | 05.06.2012 | 1002 | 99 ( 31.05.2012 ) |
| Germany | Daniela Schadt, President Joachim Gauck's partner | 09.07.2013 | 1088 | 305 ( 03.07.2013 ) |
| Awarded by President Kersti Kaljulaid ( 10 October 2016 – 11 October 2021 ) |||||

#### High Personalities

| Country | Recipient | Date of reception | Serie number | Decision : number & date |
| Awarded by President Lennart Meri ( 6 October 1992 – 8 October 2001 ) |||||
| European Union | Otto von Habsburg, Member of European Parliament | 11.10.1996 | 30 | 683 ( 16.02.1996 ) |
| European Union | Mr Jacques Delors, former chairman of the European Commission | 23.03.1999 | 78 | 495 ( 02.02.1999 ) |
| Turkey | Bartholomew I Archbishop and Patriarch of Constantinople-New Rome | 27.10.2000 | 130 | 444 ( 09.10.2000 ) |
| Awarded by President Arnold Rüütel (8 October 2001 – 9 October 2006) |||||
| Russia | Alexy II of Moscow, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia | 29.09.2003 | 439 | 444 ( 18.09.2003 ) |
| Spain | Juan Antonio Samaranch | 29.11.2003 | 448 | 464 ( 20.11.2003 ) |
| European Union | John Kjær, Head of the Delegation of the European Union (2000–04) | 23.11.2004 | 523 | 717 ( 12.11.2004 ) |
| European Union | Patrick Cox, Former President of European Parliament, for supporting adhesion to European Union | 03.11.2006 | 526 | 775 ( 02.02.2005 ) |
| European Union | Christopher Patten, Former Member of the European Commission, for supporting adhesion to European Union | 27.10.2005 | 527 | 775 ( 02.02.2005 ) |
| European Union | Günter Verheugen, Former Member of the European Commission, for supporting adhesion to European Union | 02.05.2005 | 528 | 775 ( 02.02.2005 ) |
| Awarded by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves ( 9 October 2006 – 10 October 2016 ) |||||
| European Union | José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission | 23.02.2009 | 855 | 423 ( 04.02.2009 ) |
| NATO | Jakob Gijsbert de Hoop Scheffer | 09.07.2009 | 886 | 520 ( 06.07.2009 ) |
| European Union | Hans-Gert Pöttering ( Germany), President of the European Parliament | 23.02.2013 | 1036 | 224 ( 06.02.2013 ) |
| United States | Vinton Gray Cerf, Computer scientist | 28.04.2014 | 1103 | 368 ( 05.02.2014 ) |
| Awarded by President Kersti Kaljulaid ( 10 October 2016 – 11 October 2021) |||||

### Recipients of the Fourth Class

* Robert Fripp, 2008

### Recipients of the Fifth Class

* Lydia Vasikova, 2001