Melissa had never been back to Estonia since she left as a baby in 1933. In the intervening years, Estonia had been occupied by the Soviet Union and once again was able to enjoy its independence starting in 1991. During these years, Melissa kept in touch with her Estonian heritage. In late 1997, it was clear that the post for US ambassador in Tallinn would become open the following year. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who was a good friend of Melissa, convinced President Bill Clinton to send someone who had been born there, who was one of America’s top diplomats and whose mother, Miliza Korjus, was Estonia’s most famous movie star.
Melissa arrived in the port of Tallinn in October 1998 on the ferry from Stockholm amid great media attention. Postimees, a major Estonian newspaper, highlighted the fact that she was the first woman in the US diplomatic service who did not give up her career after starting a family. When Melissa presented her credentials as ambassador (for the fifth time in her career) to President Lennart Meri, he took the document, gave it to an aide, opened his arms and hugged her, saying “Welcome Home”. Melissa and Meri had a good relationship, and he attended the US independence celebrations on the Fourth of July 2000, in pouring rain.
Read Postimees interview with Melissa upon arrival, in English, October 22, 1998
Read Postimees on Melissa arrival, in Estonian, October 20, 1998
One of the key topics in her three years in Estonia was preparing its military forces for joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). There was close cooperation between the US and Estonian military, as well as joint exercises. This occurred parallel to Estonia’s negotiations to join the European Union, but Melissa saw no competition between these two initiatives. Estonia is now a member of both organizations.
Read Letter from Tarmo Kõuts, 2001
She encouraged young Estonians to dream about their future and act on their dreams, repeating the same message as in her address to Georgetown graduates in 1991. At a high school in the town of Vinni, on March 19, 1999, she said “You are young, you must dream. I had many dreams when I was young. My dreams have come true.”
Read Coaching talk by Melissa at Vinni school, Estonia, March 19, 1999
Wherever she went, Estonians would reinforce the link between her and her mother. A TV crew took her to where Miliza Korjus lived in Tallinn. An elderly man, who had been an Estonian Army officer and had spent 16 years in Siberia, came for lunch to talk about how he had met Melissa’s parents and seen her in a baby carriage. The press published many photos of her at events, almost always mentioning her mother. At her home in Tallinn, she kept a painting of her mother in a prominent place.
Read Melissa giving press interview in Estonia, 2001
Read Seltskond on Wells family in Kihnu, June 2000
Her work in Estonia also came out in the US press.
Read State Magazine about Melissa Wells in Estonia, September 1999
Read Mount St Mary magazine on Melissa Wells in Estonia, October 1999
Several events in Tallinn were held in honor of Miliza Korjus. Two of them were in 1999. One was “Miliza Korjuse mälestusõhtu“, a memorial evening dedicated to Miliza Korjus with Melissa as a guest of honor. Her closest relatives Miliza Bunegina, (with her daughter), and Henno Korjus, with his wife and daughters, also participated. It was organized by Alo Põldmäe from the Estonian Theater and Music Museum.
Another event was was dedicated to Miliza Korjus’ 90th anniversary, held in the Estonia Talveaed, the Winter Garden of Estonia Concert Hall. Melissa and her brother Richard, who lived in Los Angeles, donated a black dress made by famous fashion designer Hattie Carnegie to the Theater and Music Museum. Richard made a presentation about their mother.
She demonstrated the same concern for humanity that she had in Africa, this time focused on the Russian-speaking minority in Estonia. The embassy spent at least $150,000 on a project of job retraining in the region where this minority is concentrated. It was meant for both young people and for experienced workers engaged in information technology, business administration and cooking, for example.
A few days before finishing her tour (and retiring from the Foreign Service), Meri awarded Melissa one of the country’s most prestigious medals, the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana Cross, First Class. Melissa, in reference to Meri’s “Welcome Home” message three years earlier, said she did indeed feel at home. She added that there was another member of her family who had received a distinction: the Cross of Freedom had been conferred on her uncle Helmut Foelsch, a hero from the war of independence in 1918-19.
Melissa had a second retirement party in September 2001 (her first had been in 1997 in São Paulo when thought she was going to retire but didn’t). Her brother Richard attended and gave her a print of a article from a newspaper in Santa Monica, Los Angeles about her joining the US diplomatic corps.
Melissa retired in September 2001 and moved to Agulo, on the island of La Gomera, in the Canary Islands, Spain.