Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana
The sash and the breast star of the order
Type	six class order
Awarded for	To honour the independence of the Estonian state. The President of the Republic bestows the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana to foreigners who have rendered special services to the Republic of Estonia.
Country	Estonia
Presented by	President of Estonia
Established	16 May 1995
1st Class 2nd Class 3rd Class 4th Class 5th Class Ribbon bars of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of the National Coat of Arms
Next (lower)	Order of the White Star

The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (Estonian: Maarjamaa Risti teenetemärk, 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.^[1] (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 as of 2023^[update] in the Kremlin in Moscow. A new collar of that order was made in 2008.^[2]

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.