The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official 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 three orders. The orders are administered by boards consisting of a chancellor, a vice-chancellor and at least four members. The orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland have a joint board.

History The Order of the White Rose of Finland was established by Gustaf Mannerheim in his capacity as regent (temporary head of state) on January 28, 1919. The name comes from the victory of the White side in the Finnish Civil War 1918 and from the heraldic rose, of which there are nine argent ones on the coat of arms of Finland. The order's rules and regulations were confirmed on May 16, 1919, and its present rules date from June 1, 1940. The revised scale of ranks was confirmed most recently in 1985. The original decorations were designed by Akseli Gallen-Kallela. The swastikas of the collar were replaced by fir crosses in 1963, designed by heraldic artist Gustaf von Numers. The honour can be granted for military as well as civilian merit.

Insignia The ribbon for all classes is ultramarine, as it is found in the flag of Finland, although officially the statutes do not define the color of the ribbon beyond it being "dark blue". The motto of the order appears on the medallion and is .

The president of Finland wears the Grand Cross of the White Rose of Finland with Collar (a neck chain). The Collar is worn four centimetres from either side and hangs at equal distances at the front and back. The Grand Cross and Commander marks are awarded with a breast star.

Classes

The classes of the order of the White Rose of Finland are:

Grand Cross of the White Rose of Finland with Collar Grand Cross of the White Rose of Finland First Class Commander of the White Rose of Finland Commander of the White Rose of Finland First Class Knight of the White Rose of Finland Knight (Chevalier) of the White Rose of Finland Cross of Merit of the White Rose of Finland First Class Medal of the White Rose of Finland with golden cross First Class Medal of the White Rose of Finland Medal of the White Rose of Finland

Recipients

Generally the Grand Cross with Collar is awarded only to foreign heads of state, e.g. to King Fuad I of Egypt (1935), Charles de Gaulle (1962), Josip Broz Tito (1963) and King Birendra of Nepal (1988). In the case of royals, consorts may be awarded with it. Heirs apparent of Nordic monarchies have also been awarded. The Grand Master may however in principle award it at his pleasure. During World War II Hermann Göring and Joachim von Ribbentrop were exceptionally given the Grand Cross with Collar because Adolf Hitler would not receive orders.

Prime ministers of Finland customarily receive the Grand Cross. Certain leftist politicians refused the cross or did not wear it, and the transient term in office of Anneli Jäätteenmäki did not lead to the president awarding the cross. The Grand Cross is also given to presidents of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, the archbishop of Turku and Finland, and the chancellor of the order.

Recipients list

+ Selected recipients of the Order of the White Rose of Finland Year Commander Notes 1919 Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Regent of Finland (1918–1919)Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces (1918, 1939–1946)President of Finland (1944–1946) 1926 Ernesto Burzagli 1930 Tomáš Masaryk President of Czechoslovakia 1931 Miklós Horthy Regent of Hungary 1934 Shaul Tchernichovsky Gladys Wright "for her contribution to improving relations between Britain and Finland."Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B.; Goldman, L., eds. (23 September 2004). "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. ref:odnb/93577. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/93577. Retrieved 10 May 2023. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) 1939 Walther von Brauchitsch 1941 Dean Driscoll for services "toward relieving the civilian population of wartorn Finland"."Letter transmitting Order of White Rose", www.ancestry.com, accessed 22 Sep 2015 Hermann Göring politician, military leader Eduard Dietl Josef Veltjens 1942 Joachim von Ribbentrop Hirohito Emperor of Japan Ion Antonescu 1951 Bernard Aabel In 1948, Aabel became the Assistant Military Attaché in Helsinki, Finland. 1955 Sir Thomas Beecham 1956 Kliment Voroshilov 1960 Jarl Lindfors 1961 Maggie Gripenberg 1962 Charles de Gaulle 1963 Josip Broz Tito Koča Popović 1965 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 1967 Gamal Abdel Nasser Zoltán Kodály 1969 Anne, Princess Royal 1970 Mohammad Reza PahlaviShah of Iran 1971 Olli Mannermaa Arthur Lydiard 1974 Carl XVI Gustaf King of Sweden 1976 Leonid Brezhnev 1978 Dmitriy Ustinov Marshal of the Soviet Union 1984 Arthur J. Collingsworth 1988 Ensio Seppänen Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Late king of Nepal 1991 Margareta Steinby 1996 Bhumibol Adulyadej King of Thailand 2004 Elwin Svenson Executive director – International Programs, FEMBA/GAP programs, UCLA Anderson School of ManagementCarrillo, Sandybeth, "Vice chancellor emeritus receives recognition overseas: Finland awards Svenson for work with international Anderson program", Daily Bruin, UCLA, 2005 January 10."for assisting the expansion of Finnish start-up companies through the UCLA Anderson's Global Access Program." Kalervo Kummola Knight of the Order of White Rose of Finland, ice hockey executive, businessman, and politician Dáithí O'Ceallaigh Viktor Pylypenkohistorian 2005 Kostiantyn Tyshchenko Philologist, linguist 2006 Erkki Oja 2007 Rada Borić 2008 Timothy Rodd Purcell Chairman of Finland Australia Chamber of Commerce Simon Beresford-Wylie Chief executive officer, Nokia Siemens Networks 2009 Mart Laar Nursultan Nazarbayev President of Kazakhstan Bashar al-Assad 2010 2012 Sauli Niinistö President of Finland (2012–2024) Armi Kuusela Miss Universe 1952 2015 Anna-Maja Henriksson Tapani Jyrki Tarvainen Chevalier (Knight) of the White Rose of Finland 2016 Pauline Kiltinen Cross of Merit of the Order of the White Rose for the promotion of Finnish culture including the commissioning of Rockland the Opera 2022 Hanna Vehkamäki Sanna MarinPrime Minister of Finland (2019-2023) 2024 Alexander Stubb President of Finland (2024–) Alar Karis President of Estonia (2021–) 2025 Frederik X King of Denmark (2024-) Volodymyr Zelenskyy President of Ukraine (2019–), Grand Cross with Collar 2025 Edgars Rinkēvičs President of Latvia (2023-) Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands King of the Netherlands (2013-) Máxima of the Netherlands Queen of Netherlands (2013-)

Special honors Grand Cross with Collar, Jewels and Swords was awarded only once, to Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim on 4 June 1944. Grand Cross with Jewels, to three Finns: Senator Otto Stenroth in 1938, Foreign Minister Carl Enckell in 1946 and Jean Sibelius in 1950. Grand Cross with Swords has been awarded to three Finnish lieutenant generals: Hjalmar Siilasvuo, Edvard Hanell and Aksel Airo. The decoration has also been awarded to a number of foreign high officers, such as the German Colonel General Eduard Dietl.

See also Orders, decorations, and medals of Finland

References

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