History and related ranks

The rank derives from the erikoismestari ("Master Specialist") rank that was originally available only in some branches of service. Early in the history of independent Finland's armed forces, graduates of the professional NCO school (see Maanpuolustusopisto

Maanpuolustusopisto

Maanpuolustusopisto was the military junior college of the Finnish Defence Forces, located in Lappeenranta. The school had a separate program for training officers "vocationally" such that they would graduate as Second Lieutenants , without going to the national military academy, Cadet School.The...

) were promoted to vääpeli

Vääpeli

- Yksikön vääpeli :Vääpeli may also refer to a position of yksikön vääpeli , a position comparable to First Sergeant of US...

("Sergeant First Class") upon graduation, but could not be promoted further, which led to frustration among outstandingly competent NCOs. Because of this, the erikoismestari rank was made available to all branches, and renamed sotilasmestari (Sergeant Major, "Master of the Military" directly translated from Finnish). Furthermore, the rank of ylivääpeli

Ylivääpeli

- History and related ranks:The rank was introduced to promote professional NCOs, graduated from Maanpuolustusopisto, in the rank of vääpeli, with a similar purpose as the higher rank of sotilasmestari. Between 1993-2007 the rank was not being actively awarded....

("Master Sergeant") was also introduced. A Finnish speciality was that sotilasmestari was ranked higher in Finnish army than vänrikki

Vänrikki

Vänrikki is a Finnish military rank. In Finland, the rank vänrikki is used in active service by reserve officers who extend their term by 6 to 12 months and serve as sopimussotilas. In addition, it is the lowest reserve officer rank...

(Second Lieutenant) in peace time. That was because sotilasmestari was a professional soldier with decades of experience, but vänrikki

Vänrikki

Vänrikki is a Finnish military rank. In Finland, the rank vänrikki is used in active service by reserve officers who extend their term by 6 to 12 months and serve as sopimussotilas. In addition, it is the lowest reserve officer rank...

(Second Lieutenant) was a young reservist or a fresh graduate of the Cadet School. In wartime, the tables turned and vänrikki

Vänrikki

Vänrikki is a Finnish military rank. In Finland, the rank vänrikki is used in active service by reserve officers who extend their term by 6 to 12 months and serve as sopimussotilas. In addition, it is the lowest reserve officer rank...

(Second Lieutenant) rank was higher than sotilasmestari.

In a 1993 reform, the professional NCO school (Maanpuolustusopisto

Maanpuolustusopisto

Maanpuolustusopisto was the military junior college of the Finnish Defence Forces, located in Lappeenranta. The school had a separate program for training officers "vocationally" such that they would graduate as Second Lieutenants , without going to the national military academy, Cadet School.The...

) was "upgraded" such that graduates received the rank of vänrikki

Vänrikki

Vänrikki is a Finnish military rank. In Finland, the rank vänrikki is used in active service by reserve officers who extend their term by 6 to 12 months and serve as sopimussotilas. In addition, it is the lowest reserve officer rank...

(Second Lieutenant) upon graduation, and the intermediate ranks (vääpeli, ylivääpeli, sotilasmestari) were no longer actively awarded. The old NCOs with these ranks in active service were automatically promoted to officers overnight in August 1994. The rank of sotilasmestari remained active until the last NCOs with the rank retired, or were promoted to luutnantti (First Lieutenant).

The professional NCO corps was founded again in 2007, and these ranks were reactivated. Only the old Finnish speciality that sotilasmestari was senior to vänrikki

Vänrikki

Vänrikki is a Finnish military rank. In Finland, the rank vänrikki is used in active service by reserve officers who extend their term by 6 to 12 months and serve as sopimussotilas. In addition, it is the lowest reserve officer rank...

in peacetime was abolished.