Order of the White Rose of Finland

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.[4][5] The name comes from the nine roses argent in the coat of arms of Finland.[6] The order's rules and regulations were confirmed on May 16, 1919,[7] 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.

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".[8] The motto of the order appears on the medallion and is Isänmaan hyväksi (Finnish for 'For the Good of the Fatherland').[2][9]

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.

Diploma of the order

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

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.[10] The Grand Master may however in principle award it at his pleasure.[11] 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.[12]

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.)[13] 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.[14]

Recipients list

See also: List of Commanders of the Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland

Selected recipients of the Order of the White Rose of Finland

Year	Commander	Notes
????	Edward Rydz-Śmigły
????	Bhumibol Adulyadej,	King of Thailand
1926	Ernesto Burzagli
1934	Shaul Tchernichovsky
1939	Walther von Brauchitsch
1941	Dean Driscoll	for services "toward relieving the civilian population of wartorn Finland".[15]
1941	Eduard Dietl
1941	Josef Veltjens
1942	Hirohito	Emperor of Japan[16]
1942	Ion Antonescu
1944	Norman Cameron Moore	[17]
1947	Earl Wagner Twitchell
1951	Bernard Aabel	in 1948 Aabel became the Assistant Military Attaché in Helsinki, Finland[18]
1955	Thomas Beecham	[19]
1960	Jarl Lindfors, 1960
1961	Maggie Gripenberg	[20]
1962	Charles de Gaulle	[16]
1963	Josip Broz Tito
1963	Koča Popović
1967	Gamal Abdel Nasser	[21]
1967	Zoltán Kodály
1967	Greta Kukkonen	first wife of actor Gregory Peck
1967	Colonel Wayne J. Moe	US Army Attaché
1969	Anne, Princess Royal
1971	Olli Mannermaa
1971	Arthur Lydiard
1974	Carl XVI Gustaf	King of Sweden[16]
1976	Leonid Brezhnev	[16]
1978	Dmitriy Ustinov	Marshal of the Soviet Union
1983	Leo Kyntäjä
1983	Walter Werronen
1984	Arthur J. Collingsworth
1988	Ensio Seppänen
1988	Birendra Bir Bikram Shah	late king of Nepal[16]
1991	Margareta Steinby	[22]
2003	'Andrew Wilkinson
2004	Elwin Svenson	Executive Director – International Programs, FEMBA/GAP programs, UCLA Anderson School of Management[23] "for assisting the expansion of Finnish start-up companies through the UCLA Anderson's Global Access Program."[23]
2004	Kalervo Kummola	Knight of the Order of White Rose of Finland, ice hockey executive, businessman, and politician[24]
2004	Dáithí O'Ceallaigh
2005	Kostiantyn Tyshchenko	philologist, linguist
2006	Erkki Oja	[25]
2007	James Cathey
2008	Tim Purcell
2008	Jim Gilleran	Managing Director – Finnforest USA
2008	Simon Beresford-Wylie	Chief Executive Officer, Nokia Siemens Networks
2009	Mart Laar
2009	Nursultan Nazarbayev	President of Kazakhstan[26]
2009	Bashar al-Assad	[27]
2010	Rajendra Kumar Pachauri
2011	Henry Tirri	Former Executive Vice President and CTO of Nokia. Henry was a tenured Professor of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki. Henry holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Helsinki, Finland and an Honorary Doctorate from University of Tampere, Finland.
2011	Bob Foster	Professor, Director – GAP, UCLA Anderson School of Management[28] "in recognition of his efforts, through the GAP program, to help Finnish technology companies expand into markets abroad, including the United States"[29] and their advancement "further in corporate development."[28]
2012	Armi Kuusela	Miss Universe 1952
2015	Anna-Maja Henriksson	[30]
2015	Tapani Jyrki Tarvainen	[31] 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 Rockland the Opera[32]
2017	Helena Yli-Renko	[33]
2021	David Yoken	[34]
2022	Hanna Vehkamäki

• Orders, decorations, and medals of Finland

• Finnish Orders of Merit: 100 Years (PDF). Helsinki: National Archives of Finland, The Orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland, The Order of the Cross of Liberty. 2018. ISBN 978-952-7323-00-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2022.
• A Guide to the Orders and Decorations of Finland (PDF). Helsinki: The Orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland. 2017. ISBN 978-951-37-7191-1.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Order of the White Rose.

• Official website
• Pictures of decorations
• The Office of the President of the Republic of Finland: Order of the White Rose of Finland