Dear chevaliers of decorations!

Dear guests!

On the eve of the Anniversary of the Republic of Estonia it is my honour and pleasure traditionally to confer the decorations of the Republic of Estonia. This moment is made festive and significant by your life stories. Allow me to say that actually, it is just one life story, one story for you all. The main traits of this life story are devotion to Estonia, consistent and steady action for the greater good of our people, high moral values. All of you are people to whom others have always looked up with respect and deference, searching advice and support, learning from your example. Even in the years when the powers that were looked upon your deeds as deserving if not punishment, then at least suppression. But those were not Estonian powers and we are glad to remember that most of our people knew your names and kept you in their memory.

This one and common story of your lives branches into many different stories.

Today, we have here freedom fighters Heiki Ahonen, Mati Kiirend, Arvo Pesti and Harald Tillemann, who shaped the flow of history with their uncompromising defiance of the occupation powers already at the time when those powers felt otherwise quite safe in Estonia.

We have Ivo Linna and Jüri Leesment, whose songs were the songs of the singing revolution, the songs that brought Estonia back to so many Estonians. And in fact, Alo Mattiisen is also here with us today.

We have Hilja Kukk, who fled the occupation to the United States of America, and worked decades for the Estonian culture, translating the Estonian literature. Due to her skills as a bibliographer, we obtained materials from the US libraries, on which the application of the principle of the legal continuity of the Republic of Estonia was based when we restored our independence.

There are the teacher Otto Amer, and scholar of pedagogy Inge Unt -- people, to whom we owe the energy and ambition, talent and competitiveness of our young generation. Salt of the earth -- we have spoken so of teachers for a very long time.

The progress of the Estonian education and science is connected to the work of Rector Jaak Aaviksoo. Mall Hellam has promoted foundation activities, which I would like to call popular diplomacy.

Toomas Haug, Ruth Mirov, and Endel Nirk have had an important role in building our national self-awareness through studies of literature and folklore.

Rein Maran has used his films to teach us to see the beauty of nature.

For decades, Kulle Raig has mediated our communication with our Northern neighbours; and working at the Estonian Radio, he was a silent patron of many cultural events, even at the time when this was a ''delicate'' matter. He continued his work also when it became a natural, normal loud conversation, the official tone of communication between two countries.

There is provost and pastor Gustav Maarand, who besides his work for the church and the people, also preserved the Liberty Memorial at Mihkli, is also with us today.

There are people whose life has been full of care for other people, for the old and the helpless, for those in need. And hard-working and conscientious public servants. I wish to thank Sigrid Haage, a capable official of the Office of the President, the Head of our Secretariat.

There are our foreign friends, who have done so much for Estonia. Following in the footprints of his father, Anna Zigure has, for many decades, given a lot of effort to develop the cultural relations of Estonia and Latvia, keeping an eye on them also today as the Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia to Finland.

Norbert Riedl has, with much initiative, promoted the Estonian culture in Austria and helped to create contacts.

The Pastor Burchard Johann Friedrich Lieberg from Germany has organised humanitarian aid to Estonia, supporting our people at the time when his help was truly needed.

Teitur Thordarson has helped to bring new bravery to the Estonian football, and sports are an important colour on the modern map of the world.

I congratulate you all upon your decorations, and on the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, and wish you every success in the future.

To all of you, I want to say:
Estonia thanks you.

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