Bruno Pao

Bruno Pao (22 August 1931 – 28 February 2025) was an Estonian maritime historian, writer and municipal politician. He worked in senior posts at the Estonian Maritime Museum, helped organise Estonia's first maritime-archaeology expeditions, and later became a prominent figure in the preservation and popularisation of maritime culture in Saaremaa.

Early life and education Pao was born at Emmaste on Hiiumaa. He was also involved in the museum's underwater archaeology club Viikar, which the museum has described as an important vehicle for maritime-archaeological work in Estonia during the 1980s.

From 1989 to 1994 Pao worked as a development adviser in Muhu Parish. He was one of the founders of the Saaremaa Merekultuuri Selts in 1994 and chaired the organisation from 1994 to 2006. In 2023 he contributed to the same volume, including sections on the early modern period and on the development of Estonian shipping from the mid-nineteenth century to the First World War. In 2019 ERR described Ei hõbedat, ei kulda as his eighth book, a collection of his earlier articles and historical narratives. He also wrote the screenplays for the documentaries Meri ukse all (1980) and Meremeeste maa (1982).

Honours Pao received the Order of the White Star, 5th Class, in 2003. He later received the Kuressaare City Decoration in 2011 and the Saare County coat-of-arms in 2016.

Selected works Valjala (1999). Emmaste (2001). Artur Toom – Vilsandi linnukuningas (compiler, 2001). Päev vajub merre: mõttevälgatusi ja sõnaseadmisi 1949–2003 (2003). Igal majakal oma tuli: Jüri Suurhans ja tema aeg (2006).