Karl Rudolf Walden (1 December 1878 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 ...

– 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.

Finnish civil war

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

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Civil Guard (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 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 ...

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, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, the capital of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, 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 The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood, specifically pulpwood, as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard, and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process In the manufacturing process, pulp is intro ...

. 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 was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

, 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 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 ...

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

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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 Minist ...

(

Social Democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

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 (; ) is one of three official Order (decoration), 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 ...

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

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

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

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

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

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

personally from King

Christian X Christian X (; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was King of Denmark from 1912 until his death in 1947, and the only King of Iceland as Kristján X, holding the title as a result of the personal union between Denmark and independent Ice ...

. 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 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

, the German

Order of the German Eagle The Order of Merit of the German Eagle () 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 following the collapse of Nazi Germany at the e ...

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 The Mannerheim Cross (, ), officially Mannerheim Cross of the Cross of Liberty (, ) is the most distinguished Finnish military honour. A total of 191 people received the cross between 22 July 1941 and 7 May 1945, with six of the recipients receiv ...

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 ...

for his services to the country.

References