BBC NEWS | Europe | Estonia mourns ex-president Meri

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</a></td> </tr></table></div> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="629" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td colspan="3"> <div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"> Estonia mourns ex-president Meri </div> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="416"> <font size="2">   <table cellspacing="0" align="right" border="0" width="203" cellpadding="0"> <tr><td> <div> <img height="250" hspace="0" vspace="0" border="0" width="203" alt="Former Estonian President Lennart Meri" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41439000/jpg/_41439750_meri-ap203.jpg" /> <div class="cap">Lennart Meri was a scholar of Estonian culture</div> </div> </td></tr> </table>   <B>The first president of Estonia after it regained its independence from the Soviet Union, Lennart Meri, has died in the capital, Tallinn, aged 76. </B> <P> A writer, dramatist and film-maker, Meri spent part of his childhood in Siberia after his family was deported. <P> After publishing works on Estonian history and culture, he was drawn into politics as the revolt against communism gained strength in the 1980s. <P> Mr Meri served two terms as president of Estonia, from 1992 to 2001.  <P> "In his nine years as head of state, Meri both restored the presidency and built up the Republic of Estonia in the widest sense," said his successor, President Arnold Ruutel, in a speech on national television. <P>  <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="208" align="right" border="0"> <tr> <td width="5"><img height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" border="0" width="5" alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div> <div class="mva"> <img height="13" border="0" width="24" alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" /> <b>His works helped preserve and strengthen Estonian identity under an alien totalitarian regime</b> <img height="13" align="right" vspace="0" border="0" width="23" alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif" /><br clear="all"/> </div> </div> <div class="mva"> <div>Estonian President Arnold Ruutel</div> </div> </td> </tr> </table>  <P> He died early on Tuesday morning in a hospital in Tallinn "after a long and serious illness", the president's office said in a statement. <P> Last August he underwent an operation for brain cancer. <P> He was born in Tallinn in 1929, but in 1941 his family were among the many people from the Baltic states deported to Siberia under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. <P> Mr Meri's family eventually found their way back to Estonia. <P> <B>Foreign acclaim</B> <P> The future president was banned from working as a historian by the Soviets, and became a playwright in the theatre and for radio. <P> He also wrote books and made films. Some were banned by Moscow but earned acclaim abroad. <P> "His works helped preserve and strengthen Estonian identity under an alien totalitarian regime," said President Ruutel. <P> Tributes poured in from Estonia's neighbours. <P> Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga said "the world has lost a great Estonian, a great statesman and a true European". <P> Finnish President Tarja Halonen said: "The Finnish nation lost in Lennart Meri a close and sincere friend and the world, a great statesman who was one of the leading architects of the post-Cold War world." </font> <br /><br clear="all" /> <div class="mvtb"><table cellspacing="0" width="416" border="0" cellpadding="0"><tr> <td width="213"><a onClick="popUpPage('http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/email/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4806218.stm','status=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,width=370,height=445','Mailer')" href="http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/email/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4806218.stm" class="epl" target="Mailer"> <img height="11" hspace="3" align="left" vspace="0" border="0" width="17" alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/email.gif" /> E-mail this to a friend </a></td> <td width="203"><a onClick="popUpPage('http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4806218.stm','status=no,scrollbars=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,menubar=yes,width=600,height=445','Printer')" href="http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4806218.stm" class="epl" target="Printer"> <img height="11" hspace="3" align="left" vspace="0" border="0" width="17" alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/print.gif" /> Printable version </a></td> </tr></table></div> <div class="mvtb"> </div><br /> </td> <td width="10" valign="top"><img height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" border="0" width="10" alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" /></td> <td width="203" valign="top"> <div class="sah"> SEE ALSO: </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/europe/4437605.stm"> New Estonian government approved </a> <br /> <span class="sad"> 12 Apr 05 |  Europe </span> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/business/4095337.stm"> Finland and Estonia: A tale of two economies </a> <br /> <span class="sad"> 21 Dec 04 |  Business </span> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/europe/3603943.stm"> Tiny Estonia leads internet revolution </a> <br /> <span class="sad"> 07 Apr 04 |  Europe </span> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/europe/3110064.stm"> Estonian media split on EU future </a> <br /> <span class="sad"> 15 Sep 03 |  Europe </span> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1106425.stm"> Country profile: Estonia </a> <br /> <span class="sad"> 20 Jul 04 |  Country profiles </span> </div> <div class="arr"> <a href="/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1107800.stm"> Timeline: Estonia </a> <br /> <span class="sad"> 14 Mar 06 |  Country profiles </span> </div> <img height="2" hspace="0" 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