"Happy birthday and good health, President Rüütel!" Karis said in greeting.

Rüütel was accompanied by former first lady Ingrid Rüütel.

Arnold Rüütel was born on May 18, 1928 on the island of Saaremaa, in the Laimjala Parish village of Pahavalla. He married Ingrid Rüütel, a doctor of humanities and folklorist, in 1959. They have two children, Maris (born 1958) and Anneli (born 1965), as well as several grandchildren.

Rüütel served as president of Estonia from October 2001 through October 2006, preceded as head of state by Lennart Meri and succeeded by Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

Rüütel earned his doctorate in agriculture in 1991. He also holds several honorary doctorates, including from the Bentley College (now Bentley University) in the U.S., the University of Helsinki, the University of Naples Federico II, the L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Kazakhstan and the Szent István University of Agriculture and Life Sciences in Hungary, and is likewise an honorary member of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine.

Various positions Rüütel has held in his lifetime include:

1969-1977: Estonian Agricultural Academy (now Estonian University of Life Sciences, EMÜ)
1969: deputy chair of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Estonian SSR
1983-1990: chair of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Estonian SSR
1990-1992: chair of the Supreme Council of the Estonian SSR, later the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia
1991-1992: member of the Constitutional Assembly
1994-1999: chair of the Country People's Party
1999-2000: chair of the People's Union of Estonia
1995-2001: Riigikogu MP
1995-1997: vice-president of the Riigikogu
2001-2006: president of the Republic of Estonia
2007-present: honorary chair of the People's Union of Estonia, later the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE)

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