Carl Henrik Wolter Ramsay CBE (31 March 1886 – 25 July 1951) was a

Finnish 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 ...

politician and an economist from the

Swedish People's Party The Swedish People's Party of Finland (SPP; , SFP; , RKP) is a Finnish political party founded in 1906. Its primary aim is to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finland. The party is currently a participant in ...

. Ramsay is mostly remembered for the fact that he was sentenced in the war-responsibility trials in 1946.

Biography

Early life

His father was statesman

August Ramsay August Ramsay (15 March 1859 – 23 July 1943) was a Finnish mathematician, banker and insurance executive. Ramsay was promoted to doctor of philosophy from Imperial Alexander University in 1882. From 1891 Ramsay served as Finland's first insuran ...

and his mother was

Jully Ramsay Julia "Jully" Ramsay ( Ekström; 1865–1919) was a Finnish historian and genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their Lineage (anthropology), lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, h ...

, a historian and genealogist. He belonged to a Scottish noble family, of Clan Ramsay (Dalhousie) emigrated to Finland in the 17th century and he was one of the few in Finland entitled to use the title Sir, however, Ramsay did not use the title. Henrik Ramsay completed his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1909 at

Helsinki University 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 Tsar Al ...

and worked after graduating as a sugar chemist in Russia and afterwards as a director of a sugar refinery in Helsinki. Ramsay was the first in Finland to be awarded the CBE

Commander of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

when he was conferred the order in 1934.

World War 2

Minister Ramsay was a versatile actor in the Finnish society since the 1910s. Ramsay was a member of the central committee of the

from 1917 to 1935, of which the period 1922–1935 he was the party's deputy chairman. However, he is relatively unknown in spite of serving as the minister of foreign affairs from 1943–1944. Ramsay's attitudes and opinions were often same as those of

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 Whites in the Finnish Civil War (1918), as Regent of Finland (1918–191 ...

. It was due to the fact that Ramsay and the Marshal had a close relationship. Both had similar perceptions of the situation and its requirements. After the Armistice, Mannerheim as the President of the Republic wanted Ramsay to be his Prime Minister. However, the Swedish People's Party prevented his premiership. Foreign Minister Ramsay's extensive network of relationships allowed him to have weight for his opinions after the German collapse when the Finnish government turned their eyes towards the Allies. However,

Risto Ryti Risto Heikki Ryti (; 3 February 1889 – 25 October 1956) was a Finnish people, Finnish politician who served as the fifth president of Finland from 1940 to 1944. Ryti started his career as a politician in the field of economics and as a politica ...

said that Ramsay had insufficient capacity for initiative and activity. Also Nazi Germany narrowed the maneuverability of Finnish foreign policy. Ramsay was able to get a sense of proprietary information from American and Swedish decision-makers. Good relations with Finland by diplomats improved his ability to follow the foreign policy positions. The German liaison officer Waldemar Erfurth complained that Ramsay had bad relations with Germany. Ramsay instinctively tried to keep his distance with representatives of the Third Reich, because they were an obstacle to peace-making. however, he bore a great concern for food intake because he was a former minister of public maintenance and concerned about the sufficiency of food. As a foreign minister he did not have the slightest difficulty to socialize with the U.S. chargé d'affaires. Similarly, his connections to Sweden were abundant. The German requirement for a treaty between Germany and Finland was transformed into a letter from Risto Ryti to Adolf Hitler because of Ramsay's perseverance and the negotiations skills. Germany had finally obtained the Erklärung but only in a form which bound Ryti himself, not the country. Ramsay was sentenced to prison for 2.5 years (1946–1947) in the War-responsibility trials. He hardly appeared in public anymore following his release from prison.

After the war

Ramsay was the President and CEO of Finnish Steamship Corporation between 1920 and 1946 and again from 1948 to 1951. He was also the chairman of the board 1934-1946. He was the minister of public maintenance in Jukka Rangell's cabinet and the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

in the

Edwin Linkomies' cabinet Edwin Linkomies's cabinet was the 26th government of Republic of Finland. The Cabinet's time period was from March 5, 1943 – August 8, 1944. It was a Majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties ...

during 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 during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

1943–1944. He died of a sudden heart attack in Visby harbor in his own yacht cabin during a sailing trip. Henrik Ramsay bequeathed his beloved 8m yacht ''Regina'' to Marcus Wallenberg Jr.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, Henrik 1886 births 1951 deaths Politicians from Helsinki Politicians from Uusimaa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Swedish-speaking Finns Finnish people of Scottish descent 19th-century Finnish nobility Swedish People's Party of Finland politicians Ministers for foreign affairs of Finland 20th-century Finnish diplomats Finnish people of World War II Finnish people convicted of the international crime of aggression Prisoners and detainees of Finland Recipients of Finnish presidential pardons University of Helsinki alumni 20th-century Finnish nobility World War II political leaders