Jaan Kaplinski (22 January 1941 – 8 August 2021[1]) was an Estonian poet, philosopher, politician, and culture critic, known for his focus on global issues and support for left-wing/liberal thinking.

[3] Kaplinski was born 22 January 1941 in Tartu to Polish teacher Jerzy Kapliński [et] and Estonian dancer Nora Raudsepp-Kaplinski.

Kaplinski studied Romance languages and linguistics under Kallista Kann at the University of Tartu, graduating as a French philologist in 1964.

He translated writings from French, English, Spanish, Chinese, including the Tao Te Ching, and Swedish, the work of Tomas Tranströmer.

[14] Kaplinski's own work has been translated into English, Finnish, French, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Icelandic, Hungarian, Japanese, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, Hebrew, Bulgarian, and Czech.

A letter signed by well-known Estonian intellectuals protesting against the behavior of the authorities in Soviet-annexed Estonia was sent to the main newspapers of the time.