President awards medal to UK defense ministry director for eFP work
President Kersti Kaljulaid presented outgoing United Kingdom defense ministry Director of International Security Policy Nick Gurr with the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 3rd Class, in Kadriorg on Monday. Gurr was one of the driving forces behind the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup.
Gurr is leaving office, and the president took the opportunity to recognize his instrumental work in the launch of the eFP, from 2017.
"Estonian honors are intended for people who are true friends of Estonia and who have gone the extra mile in working in their tasks. Nick Gurr is also this kind of person - a true Estonian friend," the president wrote on her social media account.
The eFP became a fact in early 2017 and arose from the previous year's Warsaw Summit. It is based in Tapa, east of Tallinn, which has already seen several developments and expansions since the NATO battlegroup made it their home.
The eFP is U.K.-led, with a Danish contingent currently joining them along with the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF). French and Belgian troops have also made up past eFP rotations.
Instituted by president Lennart Meri (1929-2006), the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana is the highest-level decoration which the Estonian state can bestow on non-Estonians.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
