Chief of Defence (Finland)
| Chief of Defence of the Republic of Finland puolustusvoimain komentaja Kommendören för försvarsmakten |
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Flag of the Chief of Defence
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| Finnish Defence Forces | |
| Reports to | President of the Republic Minister of Defence |
| Nominator | The Government |
| Appointer | President of the Republic |
| Formation | 1918 |
| First holder | Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim |
| Deputy | Chief of Staff of the Defence Command |
| Website | www.mil.fi |
The Chief of Defence (Finnish: puolustusvoimain komentaja; lit. Commander of the Defence Forces, Swedish: kommendören för försvarsmakten) is the Chief of Defence and commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, under the authority of the President of Finland.
The Chief of Defence commands the Finnish Army, the Finnish Air Force, the Finnish Navy and is assisted by the Defence Command. He is the highest-ranking officer of the forces (Admiral or General) and his deputy is the Chief of Staff of the Defence Command (Finnish: pääesikunnan päällikkö).
The current Chief of Defence is General Jarmo Lindberg.
Contents
Role and functions
In contrast to many other Western countries, the Finnish Defence Forces have an actual military commander with direct authority over all forces, and the Chief of Staff is a separate position. The Chief of Defence is responsible for all operative aspects of the Defence Forces, while the Ministry of Defence, headed by the civilian minister, plans the long-term economical aspects. In administrative matters, the Chief of Defence has the authority to form or disband any unit below brigade level and to make any necessary reorganization to the command structure of the Defence Forces, unless such changes have wide impacts on the Finnish society, on the finances of the state or on the personnel of the Defence Forces.[1] In command matters, the Chief of Defence has the authority to make any command decision that is not reserved to the President of Finland.[2] In matters reserved to the Minister of Defence or to the President of Finland, the Chief of Defence prepares the decision and introduces his proposal to the Minister or to the President.
The immediate subordinates of the Chief of Defence are [3]
- Chief-of-staff of the Defence Command
- Commander of the Finnish Army
- Commander of the Finnish Navy
- Commander of the Finnish Air Force
- Rector of the National Defence University
The Chief of Defence is appointed by the President on the nomination of the Finnish Council of State and may be asked to retire whenever a reason occurs. However, since 1972, all Chiefs of Defence have retired only after fulfilling the statutory retirement age of 63.
List of Finnish Chiefs of Defence[4]
| Title | Name | In Office |
|---|---|---|
| Supreme Commander of the forces of the Republic of Finland | General of the Cavalry Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim | January 28–May 30, 1918 |
| Supreme Commander of the Finnish Military Forces | Major General Karl Fredrik Wilkman | May 31–August 12, 1918 |
| Minister of Defence | Major General Vilhelm Aleksander Thesleff | August 13–November 27, 1918 |
| Minister of War | Colonel Rudolf Walden | November 27–December 31, 1918 |
| Commander of the Finnish Army | General Major Karl Fredrik Wilkman | January 1–June 19, 1919 |
| General Major Kaarlo Edward Kivekäs | June 20–September 11, 1919 | |
| Commander of the Hosts | General Major Karl Fredrik Wilkama | September 12, 1919 – August 7, 1924 |
| Lieutenant General Vilho Petter Nenonen | August 8, 1924 – April 16, 1925 | |
| Jaeger Colonel Lauri Malmberg | April 17–October 1, 1925 | |
| Lieutenant General Karl Fredrik Wilkama | October 2, 1925 – May 21, 1926 | |
| Lieutenant General Aarne Sihvo | May 22, 1926 – January 15, 1933 | |
| Lieutenant General Hugo Viktor Österman | January 16, 1933 – October 16, 1939 | |
| Chief of Defence[5][note 1] | Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim | October 17, 1939 - November 20, 1939 |
| Commander-in-Chief | Marshal of Finland[5][note 2] Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim | November 20, 1939 - January 12, 1945 |
| Chief of Defence | General of the Infantry Erik Heinrichs | January 12–July 1, 1945 |
| Lieutenant General Jarl Lundqvist | July 2, 1945 – June 3, 1946 | |
| General of the Infantry Aarne Sihvo | June 4, 1946 – May 31, 1953 | |
| General of the Infantry Kaarlo Heiskanen | June 1, 1953 – October 28, 1959 | |
| General of the Infantry Sakari Simelius | October 29, 1959 – November 12, 1965 | |
| General of the Infantry Yrjö Keinonen | November 13, 1965 – April 30, 1969 | |
| General Kaarlo Leinonen | May 1, 1969 – March 14, 1974 | |
| General Lauri Sutela | March 15, 1974 – October 11, 1983 | |
| General Jaakko Valtanen | October 12, 1983 – February 28, 1990 | |
| Admiral Jan Klenberg | March 1, 1990 – October 31, 1994 | |
| General Gustav Hägglund | November 1, 1994 – June 3, 2001 | |
| Admiral Juhani Kaskeala | June 4, 2001 – 2009 | |
| General Ari Puheloinen | August 1, 2009 – 2014 | |
| General Jarmo Lindberg | August 1, 2014–Present |
References
- ↑ Laki puolustusvoimista. (551/2007) §29. Retrieved 30-10-2008. (Finnish)
- ↑ Laki puolustusvoimista. (551/2007) §£30, 33. Retrieved 30-10-2008. (Finnish)
- ↑ Tasavallan presidentin asetus toimivallan jaosta sotilaskäskyasioissa (1089/2007) § 2. Retrieved 30-10-2008. (Finnish)
- ↑ Suomen itsenäisyyden ajan puolustusvoimain komentajat. Finnish Defence Forces. 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2016-01-16. (Finnish)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Klinge, Matti (1997) Gustaf Mannerheim. Kansallisbiografia. Retrieved 2016-01-15. (Finnish)
Notes
- ↑ The official list of Chiefs of Defence on the Finnish Defence Forces site (Retrieved 2016-01-15) does not list Mannerheim as a Chief of Defence. This is because the position of sotaväen päällikkö (Commander of the Hosts) was not abolished. Instead, the newly formed position of puolustusvoimain komentaja was the commander of puolustuslaitos, the contemporary name of the Defence Forces, the Finnish Border Guard and the White Guard.
- ↑ From 1942 onwards, prior to that, Field Marshal
