President Lennart Meri received a farewell call from Melissa Foelsch Wells, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America, who will soon finish her term as the Ambassador to Estonia, in the presidential palace of Kadriorg today.

President Meri thanked the Ambassador for her work and confirmed that during the Ambassador’s three years in Estonia, the relations between Estonia and the United States of America have only developed towards the better. The President reiterated that Estonia and the United States are united by their shared faith in the same basic values, and expressed his firm belief that soon they would also be united by belonging to the same Euro-Atlantic organisations. The Estonian Head of State conferred the I Class Order of the Cross of St. Mary’s Land on Melissa Wells in recognition of her services to the Republic of Estonia.

Expressing her gratitude for the co-operation and the decoration, the Ambassador said that her three years in Estonia had been most remarkable, especially as she had been working in the country where she was born, and representing the country where she had been able to make her dreams come true. The Ambassador thanked the President for his words “Welcome home!” said already on their first meeting, as she has indeed felt at home in Estonia. As the Ambassador said, there already is an Estonian decoration in their family – on June 11, 1920, the Cross of Freedom had been conferred on her uncle Helmut Foelsch.

Read more:
The President of the Republic awarded an Order on 04. 09. 2001 to the Ambassador Melissa Wells leaving her post


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, September 4, 2001

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