Chief of Defence (Finland)

The Chief of Defence (Finnish: Puolustusvoimain komentaja, Swedish: Kommendören för försvarsmakten lit. 'Commander of the Defence Forces') is the chief of defence and commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, under the authority of the President of Finland.

Chief of the Finnish Defence
Puolustusvoimain komentaja (Finnish) Kommendören för försvarsmakten (Swedish)
Flag of the Chief of Defence
Incumbent General Janne Jaakkola since 1 April 2024
Finnish Defence Forces
Reports to	President of the Republic Minister of Defence
Nominator	The Government
Appointer	President of the Republic
Formation	28 January 1918; 107 years ago (1918-01-28)
First holder	Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
Deputy	Chief of Staff of the Defence Command
Website	Official website

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 Janne Jaakkola.

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 Minister of Defence 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]

No.	Portrait	Chief of Defence	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch
1		Mannerheim, CarlGeneral of Cavalry 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
2		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
3		Thesleff, VilhelmMajor General Vilhelm Aleksander Thesleff (1880–1941) (as Minister of Defence)	13 August 1918	27 November 1918	106 days	Finnish Army
4		Walden, RudolfColonel Rudolf Walden (1878–1946) (as Minister of War)	27 November 1918	31 December 1918	34 days	Finnish Army
(2)		Wilkama, KarlMajor General Karl Fredrik Wilkama (1876–1947) (as Commander of the Finnish Army)	1 January 1919	19 June 1919	169 days	Finnish Army
5		Kivekäs, KaarloMajor General Kaarlo Edward Kivekäs (1866–1940) (as Commander of the Finnish Army)	20 June 1919	11 September 1919	83 days	Finnish Army
(2)		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
6		Nenonen, VilhoLieutenant General Vilho Petter Nenonen (1883–1960) (as Commander of the Hosts)	8 August 1924	16 April 1925	251 days	Finnish Army
7		Malmberg, LauriColonel Lauri Malmberg (1888–1948) (as Commander of the Hosts)	16 April 1925	1 October 1925	168 days	Finnish Army
(2)		Wilkama, KarlLieutenant General Karl Fredrik Wilkama (1876–1947) (as Commander of the Hosts)	2 October 1925	21 May 1926	231 days	Finnish Army
8		Sihvo, AarneLieutenant General Aarne Sihvo (1889–1963) (as Commander of the Hosts)	21 May 1926	15 January 1933	6 years, 239 days	Finnish Army
9		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
(1)		Mannerheim, CarlField Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (1867–1951) Acting [5][note 1]	17 October 1939	20 November 1939	34 days	Finnish Army
(1)		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
10		Heinrichs, ErikGeneral of the Infantry Erik Heinrichs (1890–1965)	12 January 1945	1 July 1945	170 days	Finnish Army
11		Lundqvist, JarlLieutenant General Jarl Lundqvist (1896–1965)	2 July 1945	3 June 1946	336 days	Finnish Air Force
(8)		Sihvo, AarneGeneral of the Infantry Aarne Sihvo (1889–1963)	4 June 1946	31 May 1953	6 years, 361 days	Finnish Army
12		Heiskanen, KaarloGeneral of the Infantry Kaarlo Heiskanen (1894–1962)	1 June 1953	28 October 1959	6 years, 149 days	Finnish Army
13		Simelius, SakariGeneral of the Infantry Sakari Simelius (1900–1985)	29 October 1959	12 November 1965	5 years, 348 days	Finnish Army
14		Keinonen, YrjöGeneral of the Infantry Yrjö Keinonen (1912–1977)	13 November 1965	30 April 1969	3 years, 199 days	Finnish Army
15		Leinonen, KaarloGeneral Kaarlo Leinonen (1914–1975)	1 May 1969	14 March 1974	4 years, 317 days	Finnish Army
16		Sutela, LauriGeneral Lauri Sutela (1918–2011)	15 March 1974	11 October 1983	9 years, 210 days	Finnish Army
17		Valtanen, JaakkoGeneral Jaakko Valtanen (1925–2024)	12 October 1983	28 February 1990	6 years, 139 days	Finnish Army
18		Klenberg, JanAdmiral Jan Klenberg (1931–2020)	1 March 1990	31 October 1994	4 years, 244 days	Finnish Navy
19		Klenberg, JanGeneral Gustav Hägglund (born 1938)	1 November 1994	3 June 2001	6 years, 214 days	Finnish Army
20		Kaskeala, JuhaniAdmiral Juhani Kaskeala (born 1946)	4 June 2001	31 July 2009	8 years, 57 days	Finnish Navy
21		Puheloinen, AriGeneral Ari Puheloinen (born 1951)	1 August 2009	31 July 2014	4 years, 364 days	Finnish Army
22		Lindberg, JarmoGeneral Jarmo Lindberg (born 1959)	1 August 2014	31 July 2019	4 years, 364 days	Finnish Air Force
23		Kivinen,TimoGeneral Timo Kivinen (born 1959)	1 August 2019	31 March 2024	4 years, 244 days	Finnish Army
24		Jaakkola,JanneGeneral Janne Jaakkola (born 1967)	1 April 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 133 days	Finnish Army

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