Edvard Immanuel Hjelt (28 June 1855 – 2 July 1921) was a Finnish

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and a member of the

Senate of Finland The Senate of Finland (; ) combined the functions of Cabinet (government), cabinet and supreme court in the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1816 to 1917 and in independent Finland from 1917 to 1918. The body that would become the Senate was establis ...

. Hjelt studied chemistry in Finland and in Germany and became rector of the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

in 1899. He opposed the increasing influence of Russia in the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

and started his career in politics. Good connections to Germany created during his chemistry studies before and after his graduation made it possible for him to get military help 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 ...

. Hjelt organized the training of the

Finnish Jäger troops Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

in Germany.

Early life and education

Hjelt was born in Vihti, Finland. He was the elder brother of August Hjelt. He studied chemistry at the

, and, like most of the chemists of the 19th century, went abroad to improve his education. From 1877 till 1878 he first studied with Johannes Wislicenus at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...

, in 1879 with

Emil Fischer Hermann Emil Louis Fischer (; 9 October 1852 – 15 July 1919) was a German chemist and List of Nobel laureates in Chemistry, 1902 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He discovered the Fischer esterification. He also developed the Fisch ...

Emil Erlenmeyer Richard August Carl Emil Erlenmeyer (28 June 1825 – 22 January 1909), known simply as Emil Erlenmeyer, was a German chemist known for contributing to the early development of the theory of chemical structure and formulating the Erlenmeyer rul ...

and

Adolf von Baeyer Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Baeyer (; 31 October 1835 – 20 August 1917) was a German chemist who synthesised indigo dye, indigo and developed a Von Baeyer nomenclature, nomenclature for cyclic compounds (that was subsequently extended a ...

at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. After returning to Helsinki he received his Ph.D, but Hjelt needed a second thesis to become a university professor. After another research stay in Germany at the University of Strassburg, working with Rudolph Fittig he prepared that second thesis and became professor for organic chemistry at the University of Helsinki.

University rector

Hjelt served as vice rector of the University of Helsinki from 1896 till 1899 and as rector from 1899 till 1917. The political turmoil after the announcement of the February Manifesto of 1899 by Russian Emperor Nicholas II, which was meant to start a Russification of Finland and tie the Grand Duchy of Finland closer to the Russian empire, induced student demonstrations. The Russian authorities, especially the Finnish Minister Secretary of State Vyacheslav von Plehve and the

Governor-General of Finland The governor-general of Finland was the military commander and the highest administrator of Finland sporadically Finland under Swedish rule, under Swedish rule in the 17th and 18th centuries and continuously in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finl ...

Nikolay Bobrikov, had to deal with the reactions of the people. Hjelt was able to reduce the pressure on the students and the university and also to stop aggressive reaction of the students to the oppression. With a short relieve after the defeat in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

the oppression continued.

Political career

With the start of the First World War Hjeld saw a chance to gain independence from Russia after a defeat of Russia by Germany. Germany on the other hand would benefit from troop withdrawal from the frontline to deal with a Finnish uprising. His good relations with Germany allowed Hjelt to get in contact with leading military personnel to negotiate a German support for Finland. A small group of Finnish volunteers reached Germany via Sweden in 1915. Their training started in autumn 1915; at the end, the group of 2,000 men formed the 27th Jäger Battalion. This unit was the core of the Finnish White Guard during the

(January to May 1918). On November 26, 1917 Hjelt, together with Adolf von Bonsdorff, met with General

Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (; 9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general and politician. He achieved fame during World War I (1914–1918) for his central role in the German victories at Battle of Liège, Liège and Battle ...

and Marshal

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919� ...

at the German army headquarters at Kreuznach to get more help for the coming civil war. Six German battalions landed in Hanko and helped the Finnish army to drive the

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 ...

from most of their strongholds. Hjelt signed a peace treaty between Germany and Finland in Berlin on 7 March 1918. After the end of the civil war he signed a peace treaty with Austria-Hungary. He also searched for a king in the new, planned monarchy of Finland. His first suggestion was Adolf Friedrich, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, but after Prussian opposition Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse was chosen to become the King of Finland. After the victory of the Allied powers the idea of a monarchy was dropped and Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg became first president of Finland. Laying out of the State Council in the chapel of the in Lübeck. Hjelt's strong connections to Germany and his animosity against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, made him no longer suitable as diplomat after the First World War, in which Germany lost most of its influence to France, the United States and Great Britain.

Works

* ''Geschichte der organischen Chemie von der ältesten Zeit bis zur Gegenwart : mit 3 Figuren'' . Vieweg, Braunschweig 191
Digital edition
by the

University and State Library Düsseldorf The University and State Library Düsseldorf (, abbreviated ULB Düsseldorf) is a central service institution of Heinrich Heine University. Along with Bonn and Münster, it is also one of the three State Libraries of North Rhine-Westphalia. ...

Publications

* Nils Nilson Idman, en finsk språk- och fornforskare under förra seklet (1882) * Erik Lencqvist, en finsk präst och häfdeforskare i föregående århundradet (1886) * Sveriges ställning till utlandet närmast efter 1772 års statshvälfning (1887) * Yleisen valtiotiedon opas kansalaisille (1889) * Nystads jernvägsfråga (1891) * Sjuk-, begrafnings- och pensionskassor för arbetare och handtverkare i Finland (1891) * Tapaturmat työssä Suonien eri ammateissa ynnä vertailuja Ruotsin, Norjan ja Saksan tapaturmaoloihin (1892) * Die Arbeiter-Versicherung in Finnland (1899) * De första officiela relationerna om svenska tabellverket åren 1749-1757 (1900) * Det svenska tabellverkets uppkomst, organisation och tidigare verksamhet (1900) * Rösträtten i Bondeståndet och inkomstförhållandena på landsbygden (1902) * Rösträttsförhållandena i Borgareståndet och deras reformering (1902) * Släkten Hjelt(1903) * Den kommunala inkomstbeskattningen och inkomstförhållandena i Finland (1904-1905)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hjelt, Edvard 1855 births 1921 deaths People from Vihti People from Uusimaa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Scientists from the Grand Duchy of Finland Chemists from the Russian Empire Young Finnish Party politicians National Coalition Party politicians Finnish senators Finnish chemists People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) University of Helsinki alumni Academic staff of the University of Helsinki Rectors of the University of Helsinki