Rudolf Walden
Encyclopedia
Karl Rudolf Walden was a 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...

 industrialist and general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

.

He received his military education in Hamina Cadet School
Hamina Cadet School
Finland Cadet school was the common name for the Fredrikshamn cadet school during the period 1819–1901. The Cadet School was originally founded in 1780 by Georg Magnus Sprengtporten at Kuopio and transferred in 1781 to Rantasalmi where it was called Haapaniemi Cadet School...

 1892–1900.
He was dismissed from service in 1902, in connection with a conscription strike. After leaving the army Walden sought a career in business. He moved to 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...

, the capital of Tsarist Russia, and after few years managed to create a major sales agency for Finnish paper. As a steadfast patriot Walden also became a prominent figure in the large Finnish community of Saint Petersburg.

In the Finnish Civil War
Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War was a part of the national, political and social turmoil caused by World War I in Europe. The Civil War concerned control and leadership of The Grand Duchy of Finland as it achieved independence from Russia after the October Revolution in Petrograd...

 (1918) he served as:
  • the Chief of Vaasa
    Vaasa
    Vaasa is a city on the west coast of Finland. It received its charter in 1606, during the reign of Charles IX of Sweden and is named after the Royal House of Vasa...

     military district from 20 February till March 5;
  • Chief of Rear Area of the headquarters from 5 March till 6 May;
  • Chief of Security of the occupied areas from 6 till 22 May
  • Minister of War from 28 November, 1918 till 15 August, 1919;
  • Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Army
    Finnish Army
    The Finnish Army is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces.Today's Army is divided into six branches: the infantry , field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, engineers, signals, and materiel troops.-History of the Finnish Army:Between 1809 and 1917 Finland was an autonomous part of...

     and of the Civil Guard from 27 November till 30 December, 1918.


Walden was in the management of paper industry
Pulp and paper industry
The global pulp and paper industry is dominated by North American , northern European and East Asian countries...

 during 1906-1946. He acted as a consolidator of the Finnish paper industry, founded Yhtyneet Paperitehtaat Oy (United Paper Mills Ltd
UPM (company)
UPM-Kymmene Corporation is a Finnish pulp, paper and timber manufacturer. UPM-Kymmene was formed by the merger of Kymmene Corporation and Repola Ltd and its subsidiary United Paper Mills Ltd in 1996...

) and was the first president of Finpap, a Finnish paper sales association.

During the Finnish-Soviet Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...

, he was a representative of the headquarters in the Cabinet from 3 December, 1939 till 27 March, 1940. Minister of Defence from 27 March, 1940 till 27 November, 1944. Greatly influential during the war, member of the so-called inner circle, he maintained politically important relationships with Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

During the Winter War the general distrust for the patriotism of the Finnish workers
Spirit of the Winter War
The Spirit of Winter War is the national unity which is credited with having saved Finland from disintegrating along class and ideological lines under the Soviet invasion during the Winter War of November 30, 1939 to March 13, 1940....

 and labour movement proved unfounded. Nation was united against the foreign aggression. Also the prominent industrialist Rudolf Walden and the Social Democrat leader and Finnish foreign minister Väinö Tanner
Väinö Tanner
Väinö Tanner was a pioneer and leader in the cooperative movement in Finland, and Prime Minister of Finland from 1926 to 1927....

 personally understood each other very well. In January 1940 the Industry Associations acknowledged trade unions as negotiation partners regarding labour issues.

Walden was a close friend and co-operator of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim was the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War, Commander-in-Chief of Finland's Defence Forces during World War II, Marshal of Finland, and a Finnish statesman. He was Regent of Finland and the sixth President of Finland...

 since the Civil War.

Walden was well known as a tough and cool negotiator. He had represented Finland in negotiation of all peace treaties between Finland and Soviet Union: Treaty of Tartu
Treaty of Tartu (Russian–Finnish)
The Treaty of Tartu between Finland and Soviet Russia was signed on 14 October 1920 after negotiations that lasted for four months. The treaty confirmed the border between Finland and Soviet Russia after the Finnish civil war and Finnish volunteer expeditions in Russian East Karelia. Ratifications...

 of 1920, Moscow Peace Treaty (1940)
Moscow Peace Treaty (1940)
The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War. The treaty ceded parts of Finland to the Soviet Union. However, it preserved Finland's independence, ending the Soviet...

, Armistice treaty of Moscow (1944)

Decorations

During his private and public career Walden was decorated with wide variety of domestic and foreign military and civilian awards. In 1919 Walden became a Commander of the Order of the White Rose
Order of the White Rose
The Order of the White Rose of Finland is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The orders are administered by boards consisting of a chancellor,...

. Later he received the Grand Cross of the Order. For his services during and after the Finnish Civil War
Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War was a part of the national, political and social turmoil caused by World War I in Europe. The Civil War concerned control and leadership of The Grand Duchy of Finland as it achieved independence from Russia after the October Revolution in Petrograd...

 he was awarded the Grand Cross of Liberty
Order of the Cross of Liberty
There are three official orders in Finland: the Order of the Cross of Liberty , the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of the two orders, and usually of the Order of the Cross of Liberty as well, Grand Mastership of...

. He was also awarded the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....

 (1918).

During the 1920s Walden became a knight of the Order of the Polar Star
Order of the Polar Star
The Order of the Polar Star is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim....

 of Sweden and in 1928 Walden received the Danish Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog
Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...

 personally from King Christian X.

During his service as the Minister of Defence, Walden received several high decorations such as the Swedish Order of the Sword
Order of the Sword
The Order of the Sword is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star.Awarded to officers, and originally intended as an award for bravery and particularly long or useful service, it...

, the German Order of the German Eagle
Order of the German Eagle
The Order of the German Eagle was an award of the German Nazi regime, predominantly to foreign diplomats. The Order was instituted on 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler.It ceased to be awarded following the collapse of the Nazi Government at the end of World War II....

 and Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....

 (1939) 1st and 2nd class, the Hungarian Grand Cross of Order of Merit, and the Romanian Grand Cross of Order of the Star.

On 2nd of December 1944 he received the Mannerheim Cross
Mannerheim Cross
The Mannerheim Cross of Liberty is the highest Finnish military decoration. The medal was introduced after the Winter War and named after Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim...

 of the Order of the Cross of Liberty
Order of the Cross of Liberty
There are three official orders in Finland: the Order of the Cross of Liberty , the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of the two orders, and usually of the Order of the Cross of Liberty as well, Grand Mastership of...

 for his services to the country.

See also

  • Russification of Finland
    Russification of Finland
    The policy of Russification of Finland was a governmental policy of the Russian Empire aimed at limiting the special status of the Grand Duchy of Finland and possibly the termination of its political autonomy and cultural uniqueness...

  • Finnish Civil War
    Finnish Civil War
    The Finnish Civil War was a part of the national, political and social turmoil caused by World War I in Europe. The Civil War concerned control and leadership of The Grand Duchy of Finland as it achieved independence from Russia after the October Revolution in Petrograd...

  • Pulp and paper industry
    Pulp and paper industry
    The global pulp and paper industry is dominated by North American , northern European and East Asian countries...

  • Winter War
    Winter War
    The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...

  • Spirit of the Winter War
    Spirit of the Winter War
    The Spirit of Winter War is the national unity which is credited with having saved Finland from disintegrating along class and ideological lines under the Soviet invasion during the Winter War of November 30, 1939 to March 13, 1940....

  • Continuation War
    Continuation War
    The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...


External links

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