Lauri Leesi

Lauri Leesi (born 10 March 1945) is an Estonian educator, translator and former school principal. He is best known for leading Tallinna Prantsuse Lütseum (Tallinn French Lyceum) from 1992 to 2018 and for his work in promoting the French language and French culture in Estonia through teaching, translation, textbooks and broadcasting. He has received major Estonian and French honours, including the Order of the White Star, 4th Class, the Legion of Honour and the Ordre des Palmes académiques. In 1949, during the Stalin-era Soviet deportations from Estonia, he and his family were sent to the Novosibirsk Oblast in Siberia; in later recollections he said that he learned to read there before the family returned to Estonia.

Career Before becoming a school principal, Leesi worked as a French teacher and in adult language instruction. He also became known to a wider public through educational broadcasting. In 1990, he wrote and presented the television series Ma armastan prantsuse keelt ("I Love the French Language"), which was based on his beginner's French textbook.

When Tallinn's French-language secondary school was re-established on 1 September 1992, Leesi became the principal of Tallinna Prantsuse Lütseum. He remained in that post for 26 years, shaping the school's public identity and its emphasis on French language and culture.

Leesi has also translated French plays for Estonian theatres and has edited or compiled book series and educational readers. From 1990 onward, he was also associated with the Europeia book series as its initiator, compiler and publisher. Väikese eurooplase lugemik

Honours and awards Leesi has received both Estonian and French honours for his work in education and culture. His awards include: Oskar Luts Humor Prize (1990) Tallinn Service Decoration (1997) Ordre des Palmes académiques (Knight, 1997) State Lifetime Achievement Award in Education (2019)