Aleksander Lampén (20 July 1879 – 25 July 1935) was a Finnish engineer, politician,

Vuorineuvos (, 'mining councilor', literally Finnish for 'mountain councilor'; Swedish: ) is both a Finnish honorary title and a historical Swedish role on the Swedish Board of Mines. The Finnish title is granted by the President of Finland to leading f ...

and businessman. He was one of the pioneers in the

wood processing Wood processing is an engineering discipline in the wood industry comprising the production of forest products, such as pulp and paper, construction materials, and tall oil. Paper engineering is a subfield of wood processing. The major wo ...

industry. He 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 ...

between March 1925 and December 1925.

Early life and education

Lampén was born in

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022. ...

on 20 July 1879. He graduated from the high school in Helsinki in 1899. He obtained a degree in engineering from the Mechanical and Chemical Department of the Finnish Polytechnic Institute in 1903. He continued his studies at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

between 1904 and 1906 and at the

Technische Hochschule A ''Technische Hochschule'' (, plural: ''Technische Hochschulen'', abbreviated ''TH'') is a type of university focusing on engineering sciences in Germany. Previously, it also existed in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands (), and Finland (, ) ...

in Charlottenburg (now

Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...

) between 1906 and 1907.

Career and activities

Lampén had business activities and headed the Tornator Oy company. He was the technical director of the company from 1908 to 1918 and then its managing director from 1918 to 1932. He established the Association of Finnish Paper Engineers along with Ilmari Stenbäck on 12 April 1914. Lampén headed the field artillery of the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

from 1924 to 1925. He was a member of the

National Coalition Party The National Coalition Party (NCP; , Kok; , Saml) is a liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in Finland, political party in Finland. It is the current governing political party of Finland. Founded in 1918, the ...

and served as the minister of defence between 31 March 1925 and 31 December 1925 in the cabinet led by Antti Tulenheimo. He was made the Vuorineuvos or mountain councillor in 1929. He became the industrial advisor of the

Kansallis-Osake-Pankki Kansallis-Osake-Pankki (KOP) was a Finnish commercial bank operating from 1889 to 1995. It was created by the fennoman movement as a Finnish language alternative to the largely Swedish language bank, Suomen Yhdyspankki (''Swedish: Föreningsbank ...

in 1932 and the chair of the Suomen Puunvienti Oy in 1933.

Personal life and death

Lampén married Lucie Agnes Antonie Kottke (1883–1962) in 1909. From 1932 they resided in

Punkaharju Punkaharju is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013. It was located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region In geography, regions, otherwise ...

. The Aleksander and Lucie Lampén fund annually awards study scholarships to Finnish students of the School of Chemical Engineering at

Aalto University Aalto University (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economic ...

. Lampén died in Vyborg on 25 July 1935.

Awards

Lampén was the recipient of the

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty (; ) is one of three official state Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The awards of the Order of the Cross of Liberty ...

, the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) 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. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

, the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

and French Officier de l'Instruction publique.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lampen, Aleksander 20th-century Finnish businesspeople 20th-century Finnish engineers 1879 births 1935 deaths Ministers of defence of Finland People from Petrozavodsk National Coalition Party politicians Finnish chemical engineers Order of the Polar Star Recipients of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Order of the White Rose of Finland Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty