Karl Rudolf Walden (1 December 1878 in

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 ...

– 25 October 1946) was a Finnish industrialist and a military leader.

Education

Walden received his military education at the Hamina Cadet School and graduated in 1900. He was dismissed from service in 1902, in connection with

conscription strikes In the history of Finland, the Kagal was a resistance movement that existed before the 1905 Russian Revolution and founded under the period of Russian oppression, in resistance to the oppressive government of Governor-General Nikolai Bobrikov ...

Finnish civil war

From 20 February 1918 till 5 March 1918, Walden was chief of

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

military district. From then until 6 May 1918, he was chief of headquarters of the rear. He then became chief of security of the occupied areas until 22 May 1918. On 28 November 1918, Walden became minister of war and held this position until 15 August 1919. Walden was then promoted to commander in chief of the Finnish army and the

Civil Guard Civil Guard refers to various policing organisations: Current * Civil Guard (Spain), Spanish gendarmerie * Civil Guard (Israel), Israeli volunteer police reserve * Civil Guard (Brazil), Municipal law enforcement corporations in Brazil Histori ...

(27 November 1918 - 30 December 1918). Walden and general of the White army

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as c ...

developed a close working relationship that continued throughout the inter war period (head of Finnish Red Cross in the 20th century) and during the Winter War and Continuation War.

Finnish paper industry

After leaving the army, Walden sought a career in business. He moved to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, the capital of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

, and after few years founded a sales agency for Finnish paper. As a steadfast patriot, Walden also became a prominent figure in the large Finnish community of Saint Petersburg. From 1906 to 1946, Walden worked in the paper industry. He worked to consolidate the Finnish paper industry. He founded '' Yhtyneet Paperitehtaat Oy'' ( United Paper Mills Ltd) and was the first president of "Finpap", a Finnish paper sales association.

Winter War

During the Finnish-Soviet

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 ...

, Walden was recalled to active service. From 3 December 1939 to 27 March 1940, he was a member of the war cabinet. On 27 March 1940 he became

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

and continued in this role till 27 November 1944. Walden was able to maintain important diplomatic relationships with Sweden and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Walden represented Finland at the Treaty of Tartu of 1920, the Moscow Peace Treaty (1940), and the Armistice treaty of Moscow (1944). After the Civil war and during the 1930s there was general distrust of the labour movement and the patriotism of the Finnish worker. In Winter War this proved unfounded and the nation was united. Industrial leader Walden and

Väinö Tanner Väinö Alfred Tanner (; 12 March 1881 – 19 April 1966; surname until 1895 ''Thomasson'') was a leading figure in the Social Democratic Party of Finland, and a pioneer and leader of the cooperative movement in Finland. He was Prime Ministe ...

(

Social Democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

leader and Finnish foreign minister) had developed mutual respect and worked well together. In the so-called Betrothal of January 1940, Finland's industry associations acknowledged the trade unions as negotiation partners regarding labour issues.

Civilian and military decorations

In 1919, Walden became 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. T ...

. Later, he received the Grand Cross of the order. For his services during and after the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper '' Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil ...

he was awarded the Grand Cross of Liberty. He was also awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...

(1918). During the 1920s, Walden became a knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of ...

(Sweden). In 1928, Walden received the Danish Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known ...

personally from King Christian X. During his service as minister of defence, Walden received several decorations including the Swedish

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the ...

, the German

Order of the German Eagle The Order of Merit of the German Eagle (german: Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler) was an award of the German Nazi regime, predominantly to foreign diplomats. The Order was instituted on 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler. It ceased to be awarded follo ...

and

(1939) 1st and 2nd class, the Hungarian Grand Cross of Order of Merit, and the Romanian Grand Cross of Order of the Star. On 2 December 1944 he received the Mannerheim Cross of the

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty ( fi, Vapaudenristin ritarikunta; sv, Frihetskorsets orden) is one of three official state orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. Organisation ...

for his services to the country.

References