Aarne Sihvo (22 November 1889 – 12 June 1963) was a Finnish general and politician.

Biography

Sihvo was born in

Virolahti Virolahti (; ) is the southeasternmost municipality of Finland on the border of Russia. It is located in the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of , of which is water. The population density is . The m ...

to a family of school teachers: Antti Adolf Sihvo and Minna Elisabeth o.s. Nyman. He graduated from a high school in 1910 and began studying medicine in the Helsinki University. In 1915 he moved to Germany where he started his military education. During the Civil war in Soviet Russia in 1918 Aarne commanded the front in Karelia between Saimen and Ladoga Lake. His military operations as a part of Karelian army concluded to holding a position south of Vuoksen. His youth, his background as a hunter and his speaking Finnish made him an alternative to

Gustaf Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military commander, aristocrat, and statesman. He served as the military leader of the White Guard (Finland), Whites in the Finnish Civil War (1918), as List of ...

. But despite his successful initial career he left the Army in 1918 because he couldn't come to terms with German orientation. He was an adherent of Republic unlike with many advocates of monarсhy of his country. Aarne Sihvo had run as a candidate for parliamentary elections in 1919 as a member of the National Progressive Party and won the majority of votes in his district. He was a member of the

Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral and Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that ...

from 1919 to 1920, representing the National Progressive Party. 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 ...

1926–1933 and 1946–1953. Sihvo was a 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. Sihvo died aged 73, 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 ...

. He is buried in the

Hietaniemi Cemetery The Hietaniemi cemetery (, ) is located mainly in the Lapinlahti quarter and partly in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is the location for Finnish state funeral services and is owned by the Evangelical Luthe ...

in Helsinki.

References

External links

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Finnish Civil War: Aarne Sihvo

Parliament of Finland: Aarne Sihvo

The Finnish Defence Forces: Chiefs of Defence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sihvo, Aarne 1889 births 1963 deaths Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery Finnish generals Finnish military personnel of World War II Finnish prisoners and detainees German military personnel of World War I Members of the Parliament of Finland (1919–1922) National Progressive Party (Finland) politicians Military personnel from Viipuri Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) People from Virolahti People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Prisoners and detainees of the Russian Empire Foreign nationals imprisoned in Russia Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class