Chief of Defence (Finland)





































Chief of Defence of the Republic of Finland

Puolustusvoimain Komentaja
Kommendören för försvarsmakten


Flag of the commander of the Finnish Defence Forces.svg
Flag of the Chief of Defence



Jarmo Lindberg.jpg

Incumbent
General Jarmo Lindberg

since 1 August 2014


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






  • 1 Role and functions


  • 2 List of Finnish Chiefs of Defence


  • 3 References


  • 4 Notes


  • 5 External links





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]










































































































































































































































































Chief of Defence Took office Left office Time in office Defence branch
1

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim


Mannerheim, CarlField marshal
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
(1867–1951)
(as Supreme Commander of the forces of the Republic of Finland)
28 January 1918 30 May 1918 122 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
2

Karl Fredrik Wilkama


Wilkama, KarlMajor General
Karl Fredrik Wilkama
(1876–1947)
(as Supreme Commander of the Finnish Military Forces)
31 May 1918 12 August 1918 74 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
3

Vilhelm Aleksander Thesleff


Thesleff, VilhelmMajor General
Vilhelm Aleksander Thesleff
(1880–1941)
(as Minister of Defence)
13 August 1918 27 November 1918 106 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
4

Rudolf Walden


Walden, RudolfColonel
Rudolf Walden
(1878–1946)
(as Minister of War)
27 November 1918 31 December 1918 34 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
(2)

Karl Fredrik Wilkama


Wilkama, KarlMajor General
Karl Fredrik Wilkama
(1876–1947)
(as Commander of the Finnish Army)
1 January 1919 19 June 1919 169 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
5

Kaarlo Edward Kivekäs


Kivekäs, KaarloMajor General
Kaarlo Edward Kivekäs
(1866–1940)
(as Commander of the Finnish Army)
1 January 1919 11 September 1919 83 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
(2)

Karl Fredrik Wilkama


Wilkama, KarlMajor General
Karl Fredrik Wilkama
(1876–1947)
(as Commander of the Hosts)
12 September 1919 7 August 1924 4 years, 330 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
6

Vilho Petter Nenonen


Nenonen, VilhoLieutenant General
Vilho Petter Nenonen
(1883–1960)
(as Commander of the Hosts)
8 August 1924 16 April 1925 251 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
7

Lauri Malmberg


Malmberg, LauriColonel
Lauri Malmberg
(1888–1948)
(as Commander of the Hosts)
16 April 1925 1 October 1925 168 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
(2)

Karl Fredrik Wilkama


Wilkama, KarlLieutenant General
Karl Fredrik Wilkama
(1876–1947)
(as Commander of the Hosts)
2 October 1925 21 May 1926 231 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
8

Aarne Sihvo


Sihvo, AarneLieutenant General
Aarne Sihvo
(1889–1963)
(as Commander of the Hosts)
21 May 1926 15 January 1933 6 years, 239 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
9

Hugo Viktor Österman


Österman, HugoLieutenant General
Hugo Viktor Österman
(1892–1975)
(as Commander of the Hosts)
15 January 1933 16 October 1939 6 years, 274 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
(1)

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim


Mannerheim, CarlField Marshal
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
(1867–1951)
Acting
[5][note 1]
17 October 1939 20 November 1939 34 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
(1)

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim


Mannerheim, CarlMarshal of Finland
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
(1867–1951)
[5][note 2]
(as Commander-in-Chief )
20 November 1939 12 January 1945 5 years, 53 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
10

Erik Heinrichs


Heinrichs, ErikGeneral of the Infantry
Erik Heinrichs
(1890–1965)
12 January 1945 1 July 1945 170 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
11

Jarl Lundqvist


Lundqvist, JarlLieutenant General
Jarl Lundqvist
(1896–1965)
2 July 1945 3 June 1946 336 days Suomen Ilmavoimien tunnus.svg Finnish Air Force
(8)

Aarne Sihvo


Sihvo, AarneGeneral of the Infantry
Aarne Sihvo
(1889–1963)
4 June 1946 31 May 1953 6 years, 361 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
12

Kaarlo Heiskanen


Heiskanen, KaarloGeneral of the Infantry
Kaarlo Heiskanen
(1894–1962)
1 June 1953 28 October 1959 6 years, 149 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
13

Sakari Simelius


Simelius, SakariGeneral of the Infantry
Sakari Simelius
(1900–1985)
29 October 1959 12 November 1965 5 years, 348 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
14

Yrjö Keinonen


Keinonen, YrjöGeneral of the Infantry
Yrjö Keinonen
(1912–1977)
13 November 1965 30 April 1969 3 years, 199 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
15

Kaarlo Leinonen


Leinonen, KaarloGeneral
Kaarlo Leinonen
(1914–1975)
1 May 1969 14 March 1974 4 years, 317 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
16

Lauri Sutela


Sutela, LauriGeneral
Lauri Sutela
(1918–2011)
15 March 1974 11 October 1983 9 years, 210 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
17

Jaakko Valtanen


Valtanen, JaakkoGeneral
Jaakko Valtanen
(born 1925)
12 October 1983 28 February 1990 6 years, 139 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
18

Jan Klenberg


Klenberg, JanAdmiral
Jan Klenberg
(born 1931)
1 March 1990 31 October 1994 4 years, 244 days Suomen Merivoimien tunnus.svg Finnish Navy
19

Gustav Hägglund


Klenberg, JanGeneral
Gustav Hägglund
(born 1938)
1 November 1994 3 June 2001 6 years, 214 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
20

Juhani Kaskeala


Kaskeala, JuhaniAdmiral
Juhani Kaskeala
(born 1946)
4 June 2001 31 July 2009 8 years, 57 days Suomen Merivoimien tunnus.svg Finnish Navy
21

Ari Puheloinen


Puheloinen, AriGeneral
Ari Puheloinen
(born 1951)
1 August 2009 31 July 2014 4 years, 364 days Finnish Army seal Finnish Army
22

Jarmo Lindberg


Lindberg, JarmoGeneral
Jarmo Lindberg
(born 1959)
1 August 2014 Incumbent 4 years, 86 days Suomen Ilmavoimien tunnus.svg Finnish Air Force


References





  1. ^ Laki puolustusvoimista. (551/2007) §29. Retrieved 30-10-2008. (in Finnish)


  2. ^ Laki puolustusvoimista. (551/2007) §£30, 33. Retrieved 30-10-2008. (in Finnish)


  3. ^ Tasavallan presidentin asetus toimivallan jaosta sotilaskäskyasioissa (1089/2007) § 2. Retrieved 30-10-2008. (in Finnish)


  4. ^ Suomen itsenäisyyden ajan puolustusvoimain komentajat. Finnish Defence Forces. 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2016-01-16. (in Finnish)


  5. ^ ab Klinge, Matti (1997) Gustaf Mannerheim. Kansallisbiografia. Retrieved 2016-01-15. (in Finnish)




Notes





  1. ^ 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.


  2. ^ From 1942 onwards, prior to that, Field Marshal




External links


  • www.mil.fi








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