Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana

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

The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (Estonian: Maarjamaa Risti teenetemärk, sometimes translated as the Order of the Cross of St. Mary’s Land) was instituted in 1995 to honour the independence of the Estonian state by president Lennart Meri.^[1] 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 shall 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 the original Presidential collar, that of the Order of the National Coat of Arms was taken from Estonia to the Kremlin after the Soviet occupation of the country in 1940, where it remains to this day. However 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 to non-Estonian citizens.

Classes[edit]

The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana comprises six classes:

One special class – The Collar of the Cross of Terra Mariana;
Five basic classes – 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th class.

The crosses and shields of all the classes of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana have the same design and are of the same size.

The blue colour tone of the moiré ribands belonging to the decorations of all the classes of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana is determined according to the international PANTONE colour-table as 300 C.