Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
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Gustaf Mannerheim served 30 years in the Russian Army, then led Finland as Commander-in-Chief during World War II. He was appointed Marshal of Finland on his 75th birthday in 1942. He served as President from 1944 to 1946. A 2004 public poll chose him as the greatest Finnish person ever.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Gustaf Mannerheim — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Gustaf Mannerheim by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Gustaf Mannerheim — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
In 1887 Mannerheim entered the Nikolaevskaya Cavalry School in St. Petersburg, beginning his 30-year service in the Russian Army. He was born on 4 June 1867 in Askainen, in the Grand Duchy of Finland, to Helene and Carl Robert Mannerheim. His native language was Swedish. He had four siblings: Carl, Sophie, Eva, and Johan.
Mannerheim served in the Russian Army for three decades, rising to lieutenant general. He fought in the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 and World War I. After the Russian Revolution he returned to Finland and led the White Guards to victory in the Finnish Civil War of 1918. He acted as Regent of Finland from 1918 to 1919. During World War II, as Commander-in-Chief of Finland’s Defence Forces, he led the defense against the Soviet Union in the Winter War 1939-1940 and the Continuation War 1941-1944. He received a promotion to Field Marshal on 19 May 1933 and the title Marshal of Finland on his 75th birthday in 1942. He served as the sixth President of Finland from 4 August 1944 to 8 March 1946.
Mannerheim married Russian princess Anastasia Arapova in 1892. They had two daughters: Anastasie born 1893 and Sophie born 1895. The couple later separated. He was a close friend of Hermann Göring, with whom he hunted in the 1930s and 1940s. He maintained private bank accounts in Switzerland, used during and after World War II. He died on 27 January 1951 in Lausanne, Switzerland, at age 83.
A 2004 poll chose Mannerheim as the greatest Finnish person ever. The Mannerheim Cross of Liberty, a Finnish military decoration named after him, remains active today. Two US postage stamps in the Champions of Liberty series pictured him in 1960. He refused to deport Jewish soldiers from the Finnish army and declined to participate in the siege of Leningrad in 1941, actions that define his legacy.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Gustaf Mannerheim — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Little-known facts about Gustaf Mannerheim — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Adolf Hitler visited Mannerheim on his 75th birthday in 1942 and awarded him the Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle in Gold.
Born in the Duchy of Finland, then part of Russia, Mannerheim’s native language was Swedish. In 1896 he became official personal guard to Tsar Nicholas II at his coronation. Around that time he married a Russian princess and had two daughters.
He served as President of Finland from 4 August 1944 to 8 March 1946. At 77, he was the oldest president on election, and his term was the shortest. He held titles including Baron, Commander-in-Chief of Finland’s Defence Forces, Marshal of Finland, Regent of Finland 1918-1919, and the sixth President.
He received a promotion to Field Marshal on 19 May 1933. On 4 June 1942, his 75th birthday, the Finnish Government awarded him the title Marshal of Finland. He is the only person to have held that rank and title.
He had two daughters with his Russian wife, Anastasia Arapova-Mannerheim: Anastasie born 1893 and Sophie born 1895.
In 2004 a poll selected Mannerheim as the greatest Finnish person ever.
The Mannerheim Cross of Liberty is a Finnish military decoration named after him. The Finnish military awarded the Mannerheim Cross Second Class to 191 persons, all during World War II, and four persons received it twice. The decoration remains active and can be awarded to any Finnish soldier, who are called knights of the Mannerheim cross.
Mannerheim spoke Finnish, Swedish, Russian, French, English, German, Polish, Portuguese, Latin and understood Mandarin.
He led the Finnish White Guards during the Finnish Civil War in 1918.
Mannerheim received many honors: Knight 1902, Officer 1910, Grand Cross 1939 of the Legion of Honour France; Order of St. Anna, 2nd degree 1906; Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd class 1906; Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree 1906; Knight 4th class of the Order of St. George 1914; Commander Grand Cross with Swords of the Order of the Cross of Liberty 1918; Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword 1918; Knight of the Order of the Seraphim 1919; Knight of the Order of the Elephant 1919; Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers, Grand Cordon; Iron Cross 2nd and 1st class 1918 with 1939 bars 1942 and Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross 1942 with Oak Leaves 1944; Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire 1938; Commander Grand Cross with Swords and Diamonds of the Order of the Cross of Liberty 1940; Knight of the Mannerheim Cross, 1st and 2nd class 1941; Order of Merit of Hungary Grand Cross 1941; Order of Michael the Brave 1st class 1941; Commander Grand Cross with Collar, Swords and Diamonds of the Order of the White Rose 1944; Commander Grand Cross with Swords and Diamonds of the Order of the Lion of Finland 1944; Honorary Doctor of Philosophy from University of Helsinki 1919; Honorary Commander-in-Chief of Suojeluskunta 1919-1944; Honorary President of General Mannerheim’s Child Welfare Association 1920-1951; Chairman of the Union Bank of Finland 1920-1931; Chairman of the Finnish Red Cross 1922-1951; Honorary Colonel of Uusimaa Dragoon Regiment 1928; Chairman of the Incorporated Bank of Helsinki 1931-1935; Honorary Chairman of Finnish Boy Scouts 1936.
During his lifetime Mannerheim received 82 military and civilian decorations.
Two US postage stamps 4 cent and 8 cent in the Champions of Liberty Series, issued 26 October 1960, pictured him.
Mannerheim and Hermann Göring were longtime personal friends. They were hunting partners during the 1930s and 1940s, specializing in deer hunting.
As Chairman of the Bank of Helsinki, Mannerheim frequently visited Switzerland during the 1930s, where he had private accounts in several Swiss banks, actively used during WWII and after the war when he emigrated to Switzerland.
In 1887 Mannerheim began his 30-year service in the Russian Army by entering the Cavalry School in St. Petersburg, Russia.
General Alexei Brusilov promoted Mannerheim to Colonel-Commander of Imperial Russian Guards in St. Petersburg in 1903.
He served in the Russian Army for 30 years, from 1887 through December 1917.
According to Arvopaperi magazine September 2012, Mannerheim owned 9.5% of Nokia’s stocks in the early 1900s but sold them relatively soon; Nokia was then manufacturing Wellington boots.
He led the defense of Finland against the Soviet Union from November 1939 to September 1944.
Historians have questioned a quote attributed to Mannerheim telling Himmler that while Jews serve in his army he would not allow their deportation. They believe Mannerheim was not even aware Jews had fought in the Finnish army until a 1944 visit to a synagogue in Helsinki.
He declined to let Finnish forces play a larger role in the siege of Leningrad in late summer 1941, partly to show Finland’s war aims differed from Germany’s and due to large Finnish losses and lack of long-range artillery and attack aircraft.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Gustaf Mannerheim.
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