Jarl Holger Wahlström (9 July 1918 – 3 December 1999) was the 12th General of

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

(1981–86).

Biography

Born to Colonel Rafael Wahlström, he was the youngest of five children. He grew up in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

, as his father was the training principal. He became a Christian when he was seven years old. In 1937, he entered the International Training College in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

, as a cadet in the Enthusiasts session, becoming an officer in 1938. His first appointment was assistant officer at the

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Corps. When

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began, he was conscripted into the military for four years. The last two years of his military service were spent as battalion chaplain. He fought against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, during the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

and the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

. Upon his return in 1944, he married Lieutenant Maire Nyberg. He was appointed Finland's territorial scout organiser when the war ended. Seven years later, he was moved to the

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

division as the youth secretary. In 1963, he was appointed to the position of training principal for Finland. A year later, he became a Knight of the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President ...

because of his work in the Scout Movement. Wahlström's first overseas appointment came in 1972, when he took up the position of chief secretary for the

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and

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Territory. He went on to become territorial commander in Finland in 1976 and then in

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in 1981. He was elected to the office of General later that year. As General, he headed an International Leader's Conference of The Salvation Army in Berlin 1984 and a Holy Land Congress a year later. He also led the International Youth Congress in 1985 in

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, USA. This was the first worldwide Salvation Army youth gathering since 1950 and the first international Salvation Army conference to be held outside the UK. In 1986, Wahlström retired from active service, moving back to Helsinki. After a lengthy illness, he died in 1999.

Legacy

He wrote song 857 in ''The Salvation Army Song Book'' (1986 version), "Great Joy Is Found in Serving Jesus". He was honoured with the Order of Civil Merit of South Korea receiving the Mugunghwa Medal in 1983. He gained an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. History Western Illin ...

in 1985. Wahlström was honoured by

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

with a Paul Harris Fellowship in 1987 and was made a commander of the

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) 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. ...

in Finland in 1989. General Wahlström has also been credited with promoting the internationalization of the Salvation army, and furthering its

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

dialogue. He sought to find the "balance between denominationalism and ecumenism" and to "have an open mind and a sincere will to co-operate with Christians of other Churches".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wahlstrom, Jarl 1918 births 1999 deaths Finnish Salvationists Finnish Christian religious leaders Salvation Army officers Scouting and Guiding in Finland Knights of the Order of the Lion of Finland Recipients of the Order of Civil Merit (Korea)