Vilhelm Aleksander Thesleff
Encyclopedia
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...
general, first Minister of defence
Minister of Defence (Finland)
The Minister of Defence is a member of the Finnish Council of State. As the head of the Ministry of Defence, the minister is responsible for the administration of national defence. The ministry is headquartered in Helsinki...
of Finland and briefly the commander in chief of the Finnish army.
Thesleff began a military career in 1894 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...
from which he graduated in 1901. He continued his military studies in St Petersburg, Nikolai General Staff Academy in the years 1904-1907, and the Officers Cavalry School 1910-1911. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, 12 June 1912.
Thesleff attended the first world war the Russian army in 1914-1917, until he was taken by the German's as a prisoner of war in Riga in September 1917. In October 1917 he was transferred due to a request by the military committee to serve as a liaison officer between the Finnish Jäger battalion fighting under the German command and the Germans. He deposed the unpopular Colonel Nikolai Mexmontan. He was the commander of the Finnish Jäger battalion 27 from 6 November 1917 until 25 February 1918. In March 1918 he was appointed as a liaison officer with the German Baltic Division during 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...
.
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...
Thesleff became the War Minister, 27 May 1918 - 27 November 1918 in the first cabinet of Juho Kusti Paasikivi
Juho Kusti Paasikivi
Juho Kusti Paasikivi was the seventh President of Finland . Representing the Finnish Party and the National Coalition Party, he also served as Prime Minister of Finland , and was generally an influential figure in Finnish economics and politics for over fifty years...
. He was promoted to the rank of Major General, 14 June 1918. After the resignation of Major General Wilkman, as a war minister, Thesleff became commander in chief of the Finnish military forces chief in 13 August 1918.
Paasikivi cabinet had been leaning towards the Imperial Germany. When Germany was defeated in the First World War the cabinet resigned. This also ment the end of Thesleff's political career.