The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (, 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 Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana. President of the Republic of Estonia, Estonian State Decorations. Retrieved 2011-01-22 The first nomination into the order was made on the same day, and it went to the President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari.
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 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 ) Pres. Martti Ahtisaari 16.05.1995 1 547 King Carl XVI Gustaf 11.09.1995 11 608 Pres. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León 27.10.1995 22 624 Queen Margrethe II 28.11.1995 23 640 Pres. Václav Havel 24.02.1997 37 725 (30.05.1996) Pres. Guntis Ulmanis 23.10.1996 39 6 Pres. Árpád Göncz 13.05.1997 49 134 Pres. Milan Kučan 16.05.1997 50 134 Pres. Oscar Luigi Scalfaro 22.05.1997 51 144 Pres. Süleyman Demirel 20.05.1997 52 144 Pres. Algirdas Brazauskas 20.08.1997 55 177 Pres. Aleksander Kwaśniewski 28.04.1998 72 320 Pres. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson 08.06.1998 73 351 King Harald V 31.08.1998 75 397 Pres. Konstantinos Stephanopoulos 24.05.1999 99 586 Pres. Valdas Adamkus 24.09.1999 102 632 Pres. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga 02.05.2000 121 780 Pres. Tarja Halonen 16.05.2000 123 788 Pres. Johannes Rau 07.11.2000 131 914 President Ferenc Mádl 12.12.2000 177 944 President Guido de Marco 02.05.2001 233 1049 President Mary McAleese 24.05.2001 241 1057 President Jacques Chirac 23.07.2001 243 1124 Awarded by President Arnold Rüütel ( 8 October 2001 – 9 October 2006 ) President Ahmet Necdet Sezer 18.04.2002 377 141 Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg 05.05.2003 416 332 President Jorge Sampaio 12.05.2003 417 408 (08.05.2003) President Georgi Parvanov 11.06.2003 435 414 President Ion Iliescu 23.10.2003 446 451 President Tassos Papadopoulos 08.01.2004 449 451 President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi 20.04.2004 498 581 President Ivan Gašparovič 12.10.2005 599 896 President László Sólyom 27.03.2006 688 994 Awarded by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves (9 October 2006 – 10 October 2016) Queen Elizabeth II 19.10.2006 693 2 President Mikheil Saakashvili 07.05.2007 739 148 Emperor Akihito 24.05.2007 740 150 King Juan Carlos I 09.07.2007 741 168 President Aníbal Cavaco Silva 24.09.2008 783 269 Queen (now Princess) Beatrix 14.05.2008 824 280 King Albert II 10.06.2008 837 290 President Valdis Zatlers 07.04.2009 872 460 President Traian Băsescu 12.04.2011 968 881 President Nursultan Nazarbayev 20.04.2011 970 885 President George Abela 31.05.2012 988 98 President Andris Bērziņš 05.06.2012 1001 99 President Dalia Grybauskaitė 27.05.2013 1045 266 President Joachim Gauck 03.07.2013 1087 305 President Sauli Niinistö 09.05.2014 1150 429 President Andrej Kiska 19.10.2015 1233 682 Awarded by President Kersti Kaljulaid ( 10 October 2016 – 11 October 2021) King Willem-Alexander 12.06.2018 1283 265 President Sergio Mattarella 04.07.2018 1298 294 President Raimonds Vējonis 10.04.2019 1324 440 President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa 15.04.2019 1339 442 President Borut Pahor 02.09.2019 1344 473 President Alexander Van der Bellen 21.05.2021 1368 744 President Klaus Iohannis 15.06.2021 1370 755 Awarded by President Alar Karis (11 October 2021 -) President Egils Levits 19.04.2023 1400 300 President Alexander Stubb 23.05.2024 1444 412 President Andrzej Duda 08.04.2025 1461 536 (07.04.2025) King Frederik X 22.01.2026 1476 655 President Gitanas Nausėda 07.04.2026 1497 682 President Petr Pavel 20.05.2026 1513 716 President Edgars Rinkēvičs 19.06.2026 1514 742
Recipients of the First Class
The recipients are :Estonian Presidency, Recipients First Class (Maarjamaa Risti I klassi teenetemärk). Retrieved 03 October 2013
Sitting and 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) Former President Gerald Ford 07.01.1997 29 683 (16.02.1996) Former Prime Minister Carl Bildt 25.07.1996 36 725 (30.05.1996) Former President Roman Herzog 20.03.2001 104 730 (08.02.2000) Awarded by President Arnold Rüütel (8 October 2001 – 9 October 2006) Former President Mauno Koivisto 20.11.2001 271 30 (16.11.2001) Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen 20.11.2001 274 30 (16.11.2001) Prime Minister Leszek Miller 18.03.2002 338 121 (13.03.2002) Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik 10.04.2002 358 137 (02.04.2002) Former Prime Minister Esko Aho, for supporting quest of independence 23.02.2003 381 332 (03.02.2003) Former Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald 22.05.2003 383 332 (03.02.2003) Former Prime Minister Poul Schlüter, for supporting quest of independence24.02.2003 387 332 (03.02.2003) Former President George H. W. Bush, for supporting quest of independence 15.09.2005 524 775 (02.02.2005) Former President Richard von Weizsäcker, for supporting quest of independence 09.06.2005 529 775 (02.02.2005) Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis 07.12.2005 613 937 (05.12.2005) Former President Bill Clinton, for support of Estonia's accession to NATO ? 634 976 (06.02.2006) Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, for supporting quest of independence 03.04.2006 635 976 (06.02.2006) Former President Lech Wałęsa, for supporting quest of independence 23.02.2006 636 976 (06.02.2006) Awarded by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves (9 October 2006 – 10 October 2016) Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen 14.03.2007 726 137 (12.03.2007) Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero 09.07.2007 745 168 (05.07.2007) Former Prime Minister José Manuel Barroso 23.02.2009 855 423 (04.02.2009) Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, for support of Estonia's accession to the European Union and NATO 24.03.2009 856 423 (04.02.2009) Former Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson ? 908 807 (12.01.2011) Former Prime Minister Göran Persson 25.02.2011 913 807 (12.01.2011) Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt 18.01.2011 914 807 (12.01.2011) Former President George W. Bush ? 973 48 (01.02.2012) Former Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek 18.03.2014 1121 391 (14.03.2014) Prime Minister Donald Tusk 18.03.2014 1115 391 (14.03.2014) Awarded by President Kersti Kaljulaid (10 October 2016 – 11 October 2021) Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, for promoting relations between Estonia and Luxembourg 16.04.2018 1280 221 (05.02.2018) Former Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg 09.10.2020 1314 384 (29.01.2019) Chancellor Angela Merkel, for promoting relations between Estonia and Germany ? 1355 702 (23.02.2021) Awarded by President Alar Karis (11 October 2021 –) Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš 24.04.2023 1403 300 (19.04.2023) Former President Guðni Jóhannesson ? 1457 522 (05.02.2025)
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 ) Eeva Ahtisaari, née Hyvärinen, President Martti Ahtisaari's wife 16.05.1995 2 547 ( 16.05.1995 ) Queen Silvia of Sweden 11.09.1995 12 608 ( 08.09.1995 ) Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden 11.09.1995 13 608 ( 08.09.1995 ) Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland 11.09.1995 14 608 ( 08.09.1995 ) Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland 11.09.1995 15 608 ( 08.09.1995 ) Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark 28.11.1995 25 640 ( 20.11.1995 ) Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark 28.11.1995 24 640 ( 20.11.1995 ) Queen Sonja of Norway 31.08.1998 76 397 ( 24.08.1998 ) Imants Freibergs, President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga's husband 02.05.2000 122 780 ( 27.04.2000 ) Pentti Arajärvi, President Tarja Halonen's husband 16.05.2000 124 788 ( 04.05.2000 ) Christina Rau, President Johannes Rau's wife 07.11.2000 132 914 ( 02.11.2000 ) Dalma Mádl, President Ferenc Mádl's wife 12.12.2000 178 944 ( 01.12.2000 ) Violet de Marco, President Guido de Marco's wife 02.05.2001 234 1049 ( 24.04.2001 ) 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) Taimi Tellervo Koivisto, President Mauno Henrik Koivisto's wife 20.11.2001 272 30 ( 16.11.2001 ) Jolanta Kwaśniewska, President Aleksander Kwaśniewski's wife : 18.03.2002 337 121 ( 13.03.2002 ) Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway 10.04.2002 356 137 ( 02.04.2002 ) Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway 10.04.2002 357 137 ( 02.04.2002 ) Maria José Ritta, First Lady and President Jorge Sampaio's wife : 12.05.2003 418 408 ( 08.05.2003 ) 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) Sofia of Spain 09.07.2007 742 168 ( 05.07.2007 ) Felipe, Prince of Asturias 09.07.2007 743 168 ( 05.07.2007 ) Letizia, Princess of Asturias 09.07.2007 744 168 ( 05.07.2007 ) Queen Paola of Belgium 10.06.2008 838 290 ( 05.06.2008 ) Lilita Zatlere, President Valdis Zatlers's wife : 07.04.2009 873 460 ( 02.04.2009 ) Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland 18.01.2011 906 807 ( 12.01.2011 ) Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland 18.01.2011 907 807 ( 12.01.2011 ) Maria Băsescu, President Traian Băsescu's wife 12.04.2011 969 881 ( 06.04.2011 ) Margaret Abela, President George Abela's wife 31.05.2012 989 98 ( 29.05.2012 ) Dace Seisuma, President Andris Bērziņš's wife 05.06.2012 1002 99 ( 31.05.2012 ) 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