Cross of Liberty (Estonia)

Cross of Liberty
Illustration of the three grades with each of the three classes
Awarded by Estonia
Type	Three grade order, of three classes each
Awarded for	Recognition for services during the Estonian War of Independence
Status	no longer awarded
Post-nominals	VR I/1 VR I/2 VR I/3 Military Leadership VR II/1 VR II/2 VR II/3 Personal Courage VR III/1 VR III/2 VR III/3 Civilian Service
Statistics
Established	Estonian War of Independence
First awarded	24 February 1919
Last awarded	19 June 1925
Total awarded	3156
Precedence
Next (higher)	Highest
Next (lower)	Order of the National Coat of Arms
Cross of Liberty for Military Leadership, Grade I Cross of Liberty for Personal Courage, Grade II Cross of Liberty for Civilian Service, Grade III

The Cross of Liberty (Estonian language: Vabadusrist ) was a medal established by then Prime Minister of Estonia, Konstantin Päts, on 24 February 1919 to honor people for their services during the Estonian War of Independence and conferred in three grades, each in three classes. Grade I was for military leadership, Grade II for personal courage, and Grade III for civilian service. Grade and class is attached to the name of recipient in the form of post-nominal letters. The 1st class of II grade was never conferred. Bestowal of the Cross of Liberty was terminated in 19 June 1925.

The last surviving recipient of the Cross of Liberty was Karl Jaanus VR II/3, who died on 6 October 2000.

The War of Independence Victory Column in Tallinn, opened in 2009, is modelled after the Cross of Liberty.

Notable recipients of the Cross of Liberty

• The British Unknown Warrior VR I/1
• the French Unknown Soldier VR I/1
• The Italian Unknown Soldier VR I/1
• The city of Verdun VR I/1
• Carl Aejemelaeus VR III/2
• Eduard Ahman VR I/3
• Albert I of Belgium VR I/1
• Jānis Balodis VR I/1
• David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty VR I/1
• Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley VR III/1
• Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour VR III/1
• Aristide Briand VR III/1
• William Clive Bridgeman, 1st Viscount Bridgeman VR III/1
• Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan VR I/1
• Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood VR III/1
• Sir Austen Chamberlain VR III/1
• Christian X of Denmark VR I/1
• Sir Winston Churchill VR I/1
• Georges Clemenceau VR III/1
• Walter Cowan VR I/1
• Gaston Doumergue VR III/1
• Eric Drummond, 16th Earl of Perth VR III/1
• Carl Enckell VR III/1
• Rafael Erich VR III/1
• The Rt. Hon. Herbert Fisher VR III/1
• Ferdinand Foch VR I/1
• Pietro Gasparri VR III/1
• George V of the United Kingdom VR I/1
• Sir Hubert Gough VR I/1
• Gustaf V of Sweden VR III/1
• Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig VR I/1
• Sir John Hanbury-Williams VR III/1
• Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst VR III/1
• Miklós Horthy VR III/1
• Esme Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Penrith VR III/1
• Karl Jaanus VR II/3
• Kyösti Kallio VR III/1 and I/2
• Julius Kuperjanov VR II/2 and II/3
• Johan Laidoner VR I/1 and III/1
• Eduards Kalniņš I/2
• Hans Leesment VR III/2
• David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor VR III/1
• Harri Moora VR II/3
• Anton Õunapuu VR II/3
• Benito Mussolini VR III/1
• Paul Painlevé VR III/1
• Karl Parts VR I/1, II/2 and II/3
• Philippe Pétain VR I/1
• Józef Piłsudski VR I/1 and III/1
• Johan Pitka VR I/1
• Jaan Poska VR III/1
• Ernst Põdder VR I/1
• Konstantin Päts VR I/1 and III/1
• August Rei VR III/1
• Tõnis Rotberg VR I/2
• Conte Carlo Sforza VR III/1
• Władysław Sikorski VR III/1
• Otto Strandman VR III/1
• Otto Tief VR II/3
• William George Tyrrell, 1st Baron Tyrrell VR III/1
• Kārlis Ulmanis VR III/1
• Victor Emmanuel III of Italy VR III/1
• Aleksander Warma VR I/3
• Rosslyn Erskine-Wemyss, 1st Baron Wester Wemyss VR I/1
• Maxime Weygand VR I/1