Mannerheim was born in the late 19th century in Russian-ruled Finland. Though he was a poor student, his connections earned him entrance into the Calvary School in St. Petersburg where he excelled (until a drunken episode where he spouted off about Finnish autonomy lowered his rank). This eventually gained him entrance to the prestigious Chevalier Guard. He volunteered in the Russo-Japanese War, rising to the rank of Colonel. After the war, he served as an intelligence office in Manchuria, taking cover as an ethnographic collector and sent many artifacts to St. Petersburg and Helsinki (many of which are still on display in museums today). During World War I, Mannerheim served as commander of the Guards Calvary Brigade and fought on the Austro-Hungarian and Romanian fronts. It was at the end of WWI with the collapse of the Russian Empire that Finland finally became free. This period was not without conflict in Finland as they had to decide how to set up their country and a short civil war ensued. Mannerheim was on the side of the White Guards and acted to defend the new parliament despite his distaste for their pro-German sentiments. The 'Whites' eventually won the conflict and Mannerheim traveled to Britain, Sweden, and France, working to earn recognition of independent Finland and to declare support for the Allies. In this time Finland had decided to become a monarchy and they chose a king, King Frederick Charles of Hesse. He, however, renounced the thrown before ever taking seat. When this occurred, the parliament of Finland named Mannerheim as Regent of Finland to lead them. Mannerheim lost the first presidential election and settled into a life outside of the government.
In this time, he led the Finnish Red Cross and established the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare. He was again called to service during WWII to negotiate with Russia: they wanted access to the Baltic and Finland did not want to give it. They attacked Finland, then, drawing them into the war. At the age of 72, Mannerheim found himself as commander-in-chief of Finnish forces. Finland was quite weak at this point in time and was required to call on Germany for assistance. In the end, this meant that Finland was unofficially at war with the Allies, and Finland had to pay reparations to Russia (they are the only country that repaid ALL of its wartime debts). When the USSR became weak enough to attempt peace negotiations, the job fell to Mannerheim. To better facilitate this, parliament made a special position for him, naming him Regent of Finland, and later taking special action in 1944 to name him president. After all peace treaties had been resolved, Mannerheim resigned the presidency in 1946. He died at the age of 83 in 1951.
Mannerheim's legacy continues today with the survival of the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, a street in Helsinki which bears his name, and his home, turned museum, on Kaivopuisto in Helsinki, and other things, I am sure. We recently visited this museum and here is the only picture I have as photography was not permitted inside.
It was a short, guided tour. The guide is obligatory, either because they don't want to disturb the house with placards of explanations, or they want to be sure that you don't touch anything with your grubby little mits. If you are really interested in Mannerheim, then I highly recommend this museum. If for nothing else than to see the impressive collection of all of his medals and awards. Before you go, I would strongly urge you to read up on Mannerheim as this seemed to help me out during the tour. I recently finished the English language (not a translation) Mannerheim by Jonathan Clements and would recommend the book. Happy learning!
In this time, he led the Finnish Red Cross and established the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare. He was again called to service during WWII to negotiate with Russia: they wanted access to the Baltic and Finland did not want to give it. They attacked Finland, then, drawing them into the war. At the age of 72, Mannerheim found himself as commander-in-chief of Finnish forces. Finland was quite weak at this point in time and was required to call on Germany for assistance. In the end, this meant that Finland was unofficially at war with the Allies, and Finland had to pay reparations to Russia (they are the only country that repaid ALL of its wartime debts). When the USSR became weak enough to attempt peace negotiations, the job fell to Mannerheim. To better facilitate this, parliament made a special position for him, naming him Regent of Finland, and later taking special action in 1944 to name him president. After all peace treaties had been resolved, Mannerheim resigned the presidency in 1946. He died at the age of 83 in 1951.
Mannerheim's legacy continues today with the survival of the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, a street in Helsinki which bears his name, and his home, turned museum, on Kaivopuisto in Helsinki, and other things, I am sure. We recently visited this museum and here is the only picture I have as photography was not permitted inside.
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