- Rudolf Walden
Karl Rudolf Walden (
December 1 ,1878 -October 25 ,1946 ) was a Finnish industrialist andgeneral .He received his military education in
Hamina 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 toSaint Petersburg , the capital ofTsarist 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 (1918) he served as:
*the Chief ofVaasa military district from20 February tillMarch 5 ;
*Chief of Rear Area of the headquarters from5 March till6 May ;
*Chief of Security of the occupied areas from 6 till22 May
*Minister of War from28 November , 1918 till15 August , 1919;
*Commander-in-Chief of theFinnish Army and of the Civil Guard from27 November till30 December , 1918.Walden was in the management of paper industry during 1906-1946. He acted as a consolidator of the Finnish paper industry, founded "Yhtyneet Paperitehtaat Oy" (United Paper Mills Ltd) and was the first president of
Finpap , a Finnish paper sales association.During the Finnish-Soviet
Winter War , he was a representative of the headquarters in the Cabinet from3 December , 1939 till27 March , 1940. Minister of Defence from27 March , 1940 till27 November , 1944. Greatly influential during the war, member of the so-called inner circle, he maintained politically important relationships withSweden and theUnited States .During the Winter War the general distrust for the patriotism of the Finnish workers 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 ministerVäinö Tanner 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 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 of 1920,Moscow Peace Treaty (1940) , 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 the commander of the
Order of the White Rose . Later he received the Grand Cross of the Order. For his services during and after theFinnish Civil War he was awarded the Grand Cross of Liberty. He was also awarded theIron Cross (1918).During the 1920s Walden became a knight of the
Order of the Polar Star of Sweden and in 1928 Walden received the Danish Grand Cross of theOrder of the Dannebrog personally from KingChristian X .During his service as the Minister of Defence, Walden received several high decorations such as the Swedish
Order of the Sword , the GermanOrder of the German Eagle andIron Cross (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 of theOrder of the Cross of Liberty for his services to the country.ee also
*
Russification of Finland
*Finnish Civil War
*Pulp and paper industry
*UPM
*Winter War
*Spirit of the Winter War
*Continuation War External links
* [http://www.mannerheim.fi/06_vsota/e_walden.htm Rudolf Walden]
* [http://www.upm-kymmene.com UPM-Kymmene Oyj]
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