President Lennart Meri decided to allocate 15,000 kroons from the President’s Cultural Endowment and 100 kroons from his salary in May to support the building of the roof of St John’s church in Tartu.

The sum assigned for the spire of St John’s was the first donation made from the Cultural Endowment after the Economy conference of Hansabank on May 5 whose participation fees were given to the President’s Cultural Endowment.

President expressed his conviction that “the fact that Estonian bankers wish to direct capital for the support of culture is the best proof of the mature understanding of the Estonian business circles about their tasks in building the community”. Hopefully the initiative of hansabankers will find followers because money given to culture will always ennoble the donator , not to mention the fact that even the smallest sum invested for the benefit of culture will endlessly restore culture and thereby man himself. This means that the Estonia Businessman will no longer be a random sponsor but an honoured supporter instead.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, May 19, 1999

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