Order of the Cross of Liberty

The President of Finland is the Grand Master of the Order of the White Rose of Finland and of the Order of the Lion of Finland, and usually of the Order of the Cross of Liberty as well, Grand Mastership of which is attached to the position of Commander-in-chief. All of these 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 Cross of Liberty was founded on March 4, 1918, upon the initiative of Regent of Finland Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. He had commissioned the artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela to design awards and other insignia for the White Army towards the end of February 1918. The designs by Gallen-Kallela were confirmed by the Finnish Senate at the foundation of the order in seven classes: grand cross, cross of liberty (1st to 4th Class) and the medal of liberty (1st and 2nd Class). Since the Order of the Cross of Liberty was initially established to reward wartime merits, Regent Mannerheim decided to cease awarding these decorations on the first anniversary of the Finnish Civil War's outbreak, January 28, 1919 and the order was in essence defunct from that day on. The outbreak of war in 1939 between Finland and the Soviet Union highlighted the need to reward soldiers and civilians during wartime. Immediately after the beginning of the Winter War, Mannerheim, who had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defense Forces, initiated the reinstatement of the Cross of Liberty and the Medals of Liberty. President Kyösti Kallio issued a decree on December 8, 1939, concerning the awarding of the Crosses and Medals of Liberty. This decree largely followed the provisions established earlier in 1918. The most significant change was that the President authorized the Commander-in-Chief to confer all Crosses and Medals of Liberty. The Order of Cross of Liberty was made a permanent order on 16 December 1940. A decree issued on 18 August 1944 enabled the decorations to be awarded in peacetime. In the same decree, Mannerheim (1867–1951) was designated as Grand Master for life, after which the title would move to the serving Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces. Decorations of the order were awarded in great numbers during the World War II, partly due to Marshal Mannerheim having issued an order that wounded soldiers were to be awarded for their sacrifice, and Finland has no separate decoration for wounded. The Cross of Liberty is usually reserved for commissioned officers, with the Medal of Liberty being awarded for soldiers of junior rank and NCOs. The Cross of Liberty has a red ribbon when it is granted in wartime and a yellow ribbon when it is awarded in peacetime. ==List of awards of the Order of the Cross of Liberty==

Special awards In total the order has 55 distinct insignia. Due to the numerous ways of awarding it has been called "the most complex order in Europe". ==Notable recipients==

Grand Crosses • Martti Ahtisaari • Ion Antonescu • Walther von Brauchitsch • Stephan Burián von Rajecz • Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland • Eduard Dietl • Karl Dönitz • Adolf Ehrnrooth • Hermann Göring • Tarja Halonen • Erik Heinrichs • Kaarlo Heiskanen • Prince Henry of Prussia • Georg von Hertling • Heinrich Himmler • Paul von Hindenburg • Gustav Hägglund • Kyösti Kallio • Juhani Kaskeala • Wilhelm Keitel • Urho Kekkonen • Jan Klenberg • Mauno Koivisto • Erich Ludendorff • Jarl Lundqvist • Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim • Vilho Petter Nenonen • Sauli Niinistö • Karl Lennart Oesch • Juho Kusti Paasikivi • Ari Puheloinen • Erich Raeder • Risto Ryti • Aarne Sihvo • Alexander Stubb • Lauri Sutela • Pehr Evind Svinhufvud • Talaat Pasha • Jaakko Valtanen • Väinö Valve • Rudolf Walden • Wilhelm II, German Emperor 1st Class with a Star • Ernst Busch • Wilhelm Canaris • Rolf Carls • Eduard Dietl • Waldemar Erfurth • Hans Jeschonnek • Timo Kivinen • Hans-Georg von Seidel • Günther Korten • Felix Steiner 1st Class • Karl Allmendinger • Hans Baur • Gottlob Berger • Wilhelm Berlin • Karl Bodenschatz • Franz Böhme • Kurt Böhmer • Theodor Burchardi • Leopold Bürkner • Erich Buschenhagen • Hans Bütow • Hans Degen • Karl Maria Demelhuber • Erwin Engelbrecht • Kurt Fricke • William R. Furlong • Herbert Gille • Rüdiger von der Goltz • Władysław Grabski • Wilhelm Hasse • Georg Ritter von Hengl • Adolf Heusinger • Otto Hoffmann von Waldau • Alexander Holle • Alfred Jodl • Ferdinand Jodl • Heinrich Kittel • Philipp Kleffel • Matthias Kleinheisterkamp • August Krakau • Hans Kreysing • Karl von Le Suire • Fanni Luukkonen • Walter Nowotny • Friedrich Paulus • Georg Radziej • Elisabeth Rehn • Herbert Rieckhoff • August Schmidt • Hubert Schmundt • Ferdinand Schörner • Hans-Georg von Seidel • Karl Weisenberger • Albert Wodrig • Kurt Zeitzler • Arthur Zimmermann 2nd Class • Eugen-Heinrich Bleyer • Eckhard Christian • Gerhard Engel • Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck • Nikolaus von Falkenhorst • Hermann Fischer • Bruno Frankewitz • Eberhard Kinzel • Mauno Koivisto • Rolf Nevanlinna • Carl Petersén • Erich Rudorffer • Jorma Sarvanto • Karl Schnörrer • Reiner Stahel • Alois Windisch 3rd Class • Simo Häyhä • Ilmari Juutilainen • Paul Klatt • Einar Lundborg • Carl Petersén • Jorma Sarvanto • Reiner Stahel • Mikko Hyppönen • Prince Wolfgang of Hesse Other or unknown classes • Franz Augsberger • Verna Erikson • John F. "Jack" Hasey • Olaf Helset • Harry Järv • Kurt Kuhlmey • Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan • Leonard Mociulschi • Bernhard Paus • Walter Schuck • Hjalmar Siilasvuo • Arne Somersalo • Jerzy Świrski Institutions The statutes allow the order to be conferred collectively. The following have been awarded: • City of Vaasa • • • Guard Jaeger Battalion • • • • • Pori Regiment • • • Jaeger Battalion 2 • • • University of Helsinki • Cadet School • Reserve Officer School • Mothers of Finland • City of Mikkeli • Naval Academy • • National Defence Institute • Air Force Academy • • • • Soldiers' Home Association • • • : No official translation available. == See also ==