Aarand Roos
Aarand Roos was an Estonian linguist, writer and diplomat. He spent much of his life in exile in Sweden and the United States, including service as consul of the Republic of Estonia in New York, before returning to Estonia in 1996.
Early life and education
Roos was born in Tartu into a family of philologists. In July 1944 his family fled Estonia to Sweden as part of the wartime refugee exodus, arriving in Stockholm on 12 July 1944.He studied Finno-Ugric languages at Lund University. He defended his doctoral dissertation at Lund University on 2 April 1980; the dissertation was titled Morfologiska tendenser vid språklig interferens med estniska som bas.
Career
After completing his doctorate, Roos taught Finno-Ugric languages at Lund University. In the 1970s he worked in the Estonian Service of the Voice of America in Washington, D.C..From 1982 to 1995 he served as consul at the Estonian consulate/consulate general in New York, working alongside Consul General Ernst Jaakson; the National Archives has described his tenure as part of maintaining Estonia's legal continuity abroad during the period of non-recognition of Soviet annexation. He returned to Estonia in 1996 and worked as a translator/interpreter at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs until 2005.
Politics
In Estonia, Roos was active in the Estonian Christian People's Party, serving on its board and standing as its presidential candidate.Writing and research
Roos published fiction and poetry as well as works in linguistics and cultural history. His book Jumalaga, Kars ja Erzurum concerns the history, life and language of the Estonian settlement of Uus-Estonia in northeastern Turkey and was based on fieldwork in the region.Selected works
Lehmatapja Tallermaa: reisikirjeldus tuhandete põldude maalt Esto-Atlantis Jumalaga, Kars ja Erzurum Konsuli kõned 1982–1991 Words for Understanding Ethnic Estonians Eesti kergejõustiku pool sajandit paguluses, ajalugu ja edetabelid Staadionilt statistikasse. Lugusid eesti spordi ajaloost- ''Areenilt arhiivi. Lugusid eesti spordi ajaloost''
Honours and recognition
Roos was awarded the Order of the National Coat of Arms in 1998 for services connected to maintaining the continuity of the Republic of Estonia. According to a later biographical account, he returned the decoration in 2003 as a political protest related to Estonia's accession to the European Union.In 2010 he was elected an honorary member of the Estonian Sports History Society.