John Casimir Ehrnrooth
Encyclopedia
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
soldier in the service of Imperial Russia, who also acted as Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
Ehrnrooth was born to an affluent noble family in the Seesta mansion in Nastola
Nastola
Nastola is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. In 1856, he graduated from the Imperial Military Academy
General Staff Academy (Imperial Russia)
The General Staff Academy was a Russian military academy, established in 1832 in St.Petersburg. It was first known as the Imperial Military Academy , then in 1855 it was renamed Nicholas General Staff Academy and in 1909 - Imperial Nicholas Military Academy The General Staff Academy was a...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and enlisted in the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
.
Ehrnrooth first came to prominence when he played a leading role in suppressing the resistance of Imam Shamil
Imam Shamil
Imam Shamil also spelled Shamyl, Schamil, Schamyl or Shameel was an Avar political and religious leader of the Muslim tribes of the Northern Caucasus...
and the Avars
Caucasian Avars
Avars or Caucasian Avars are a modern people of Caucasus, mainly of Dagestan, in which they are the predominant group. The Caucasian Avar language belongs to the Northeast Caucasian language family ....
in 1859. At the time a Major in the Russian Army
Military history of Imperial Russia
The Military history of the Russian Empire encompasses the history of armed conflict in which the Empire participated. This history stretches from its creation in 1721 by Peter the Great, until the Russian Revolution , which led to the establishment of the Soviet Union...
, Ehrnrooth continued to rise through the ranks in campaigns against Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
rebels and fighting to remove the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
from Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. Following the Independence of Bulgaria Ehrnrooth was chosen by Russia to look after the interests of Alexander of Bulgaria, becoming Minister of War in the newly independent government. Ehrnrooth became the strongman of the government, and became Prime Minister on 9 May 1881 whilst Alexander finalised his plans to assume full control of the country. Ehrnrooth became the strongest supporter of Alexander during this period, although he was forced to leave Bulgaria when the experiment floundered.
After his return to Russia Ehrnrooth became Minister-Secretary of State for Finnish Affairs
Finnish Minister Secretary of State
The Minister–Secretary of State for Finland represented Finnish interests in the Imperial Court in Saint Petersburg. Before 1834 the title was secretary of state...
, although the job, which involved drives towards Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
, did not suit the Finn. He retired in the 1890s and died of a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
at the age of 79. Although he had no children both Finnish World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
colonel and later general Adolf Ehrnrooth
Adolf Ehrnrooth
Adolf Erik Ehrnrooth was a Finnish general.Ehrnrooth entered cadet school in 1922 and served in the Uusimaa Dragoon Regiment ....
and former chairman of Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
and Kymmene Corporation Casimir Ehrnrooth
Casimir Ehrnrooth
Casimir "Casse" Ehrnrooth, titled Vuorineuvos [sv: Bergsråd] , is Finnish magnate, former chairman of Nokia Corporation, although his serious career began in forest industry, and later he directed UPM-Kymmene and Merita-Nordbanken....
are from his family line.