Linnart Mäll (born 1938) is an Estonian historian.

Born in Tallinn, Estonia, he graduated from the Tartu State University in 1962 majoring in general history; postgraduate studies at the Institute for Oriental Studies at the Academy of Sciences of USSR (1964-1966) and Department of History, Tartu State University (1966-1969); 1985 Cand. Hist. (Ph.D.) in history, Ph.D. thesis ""Ashtasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā" as a Historical Source"

Since 1994 Head of the Centre for Oriental Studies, senior research fellow, Department of History, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Tartu; 1969-1973, lecturer of the Chair of General History at Tartu State University, later dismissed for anticommunist views and worked for ten years as engineer of the Cabinet for Oriental Studies; partly rehabilitated in 1983 and promoted to head of the Laboratory for History and Semiotics (1983-1991); head of the Laboratory for Oriental Studies (1991-1994)

Main research fields: Buddhist Mahāyāna texts, Buddhist mythology, classical Indian literature and culture, classical Chinese texts, Tibetan Buddhist texts, history of small nations and peoples

One of the first who applied methods of the semiotic analysis for investigation of Buddhist texts and other texts of classical Oriental thought; one of the central figures of the branch of oriental studies in the Tartu-Moscow school of semiotics in 1960-70s; in 1990s worked on the elaboration of the conception of humanistic base texts; since 1998 the initiator and head of the research project "Humanistic base texts in the history of mankind"; author of ten books and over one hundred academic articles

Inspired to become a Buddhist and buddhologist by well known Estonian theologian and philosopher Uku Masing in early 1960s; later studied under and worked together several Buddhist and non-Buddhist teachers and scholars to mention only Nikolai Konrad , Alexander Piatigorsky , Oktiabrina Volkova , Youri Parfionovich , Lev Menshikov , Lama Bidia Dandaron et al; teacher and spiritual master for many Estonian buddhists and orientalists of younger generation; in 1990s established closed ties with His Holiness The Dalai Lama; main organizer of both visits of His Holiness in Estonia (1991 and 2001); founder and director of the first Mahāyāna Institute (worked in 1991-1994)

Membership in the academic associations: Estonian Oriental Society, founder and president in 1988-2001, since 2001 honorary president; American Oriental Society; Learned Estonian Society; Academic Baltic-German Cultural Society in Tartu; Academic Historical Society; Estonian Writers' Association; Estonian Tibetan Cultural Society, honorary member

One of the founders and first chairman of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, 1991-1993; Member of the Estonian Congress and Estonian Council, 1990-1992; member of the Estonian Constitutional Assembly, 1991-1992; Vice Chairman of the Estonian National Independence Party, 1992-1994; founder and president of the Estonian Paneuropean Union since 1992

Rewarded by Estonian White Star Order, IV degree, 2001