Lennart Georg Meri was an Estonian writer, film director and statesman. He was the country's foreign minister in 1990–1992 and President of Estonia in 1992–2001.

The Estonian Swedes, or Estonia-Swedes, or "Coastal Swedes" are a Swedish-speaking minority traditionally residing in the coastal areas and islands of what is now western and northern Estonia. During World War II, almost all of the remaining Swedish-speaking minority escaped from the Soviet invasion of Estonia and fled to Sweden in 1944. Only the descendants of a few individuals who stayed behind are permanent residents in Estonia today.