Kaarlo Lauri Torvald Malmberg (May 8, 1888 in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

– March 14, 1948 in Helsinki) was a Finnish lieutenant general and son of Emil and Aino Malmberg. He was the

Chief of Defence A chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national ...

of the

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) (; ) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy, and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime, the Finnish Border Guard becomes part of the Finnish Defence For ...

in 1925. General Malmberg served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Civil Guards (a voluntary paramilitary defence organization) from 1921 to 1944, when the organization was abolished as an "

anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism or anti-Soviet sentiment are activities that were actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the Soviet Union. Three common uses of the term include the following: * Anti-Sovietism in inter ...

" organization. He also served as the

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

from 1924 to 1925. At the time there was a power struggle between German-trained and Russian-trained officers in the Defence Forces. His appointment was a good compromise, because on the other hand he represented the White Guards and the German-trained officer faction, but on the other hand his loyalty to the civilian Finnish government was unwavering. During the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

, Malmberg led the executions of six suspected

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

. Malmberg is recipient of the Latvian military

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, ), the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of Jānis Balodis, the Commander of the Latvian Army during the Latvian War of Independ ...

2nd class and Lithuanian Riflemen's Star. Malmberg also received Estonian

Order of the Cross of the Eagle The Order of the Cross of the Eagle (; ) was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a state order in 1936. The Order of the Cross of the Eagle is bestowe ...

1st class and Latvian

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

Grand cross. His mother was Aino Malmberg and brother

Erik Malmberg Erik Malmberg (15 March 1897 – 9 May 1964) was a Swedish wrestler. He competed at the 1924, 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics in Greco-Roman events and won a bronze, a silver, and a gold medal, respectively. His younger brother Algost also took ...

References

External links

The Finnish Defence Forces: Chiefs of Defence
1888 births 1948 deaths Ministers of defence of Finland Military personnel from Helsinki Military personnel from Uusimaa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Jägers of the Jäger Movement Finnish lieutenant generals Finnish military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class {{Finland-mil-bio-stub Perpetrators of the White Terror (Finland)