# Order of the White Rose of Finland

The Order of the White Rose of Finland (Finnish: Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; Swedish: Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) 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 Isänmaan hyväksi (Finnish for 'For the Good of the Fatherland').
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) |
| ???? | Edward Rydz-Śmigły | |
| 1926 | Ernesto Burzagli | |
| 1930 | Tomáš Masaryk | President of Czechoslovakia |
| 1931 | Miklós Horthy | Regent of Hungary |
| 1934 | Shaul Tchernichovsky | |
| 1934 | Gladys Wright | "for her contribution to improving relations between Britain and Finland." |
| 1939 | Walther von Brauchitsch | |
| 1941 | Dean Driscoll | for services "toward relieving the civilian population of wartorn Finland". |
| 1941 | Hermann Göring | politician, military leader |
| 1941 | Eduard Dietl | |
| 1941 | Josef Veltjens | |
| 1942 | Joachim von Ribbentrop | |
| 1942 | Hirohito | Emperor of Japan |
| 1942 | Ion Antonescu | |
| 1944 | Norman Cameron Moore | |
| 1947 | Earl Wagner Twitchell | |
| 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 | |
| 1963 | Koča Popović | |
| 1967 | Gamal Abdel Nasser | |
| 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 |
| 1976 | Leonid Brezhnev | |
| 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 |
| 1991 | Margareta Steinby | |
| 1996 | Bhumibol Adulyadej | King of Thailand |
| 2003 | "Andrew Wilkinson" | |
| 2004 | Elwin Svenson | Executive Director – International Programs, FEMBA/GAP programs, UCLA Anderson School of Management "for assisting the expansion of Finnish start-up companies through the UCLA Anderson's Global Access Program." |
| 2004 | Kalervo Kummola | Knight of the Order of White Rose of Finland, ice hockey executive, businessman, and politician |
| 2004 | Dáithí O'Ceallaigh | |
| 2004 | Viktor Pylypenko | historian |
| 2005 | Kostiantyn Tyshchenko | philologist, linguist |
| 2006 | Erkki Oja | |
| 2007 | James Cathey | |
| 2007 | Rada Borić | |
| 2008 | Timothy Rodd Purcell | Chairman of Finland Australia Chamber of Commerce |
| 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 |
| 2009 | Bashar al-Assad | |
| 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 "in recognition of his efforts, through the GAP program, to help Finnish technology companies expand into markets abroad, including the United States" and their advancement "further in corporate development." |
| 2012 | Sauli Niinistö | President of Finland (2012–2024) |
| 2012 | Armi Kuusela | Miss Universe 1952 |
| 2015 | Anna-Maja Henriksson | |
| 2015 | 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 Rockland the Opera |
| 2017 | Helena Yli-Renko | |
| 2021 | David Yoken | |
| 2022 | Hanna Vehkamäki |
| 2022 | Sanna Marin | |
| 2024 | Alexander Stubb | President of Finland (2024–) |
| 2024 | Alar Karis | President of Estonia (2021–) |
| 2025 | Frederik X | King of Denmark (2024-) |
| 2025 | Volodymyr Zelenskyy | President of Ukraine (2019–) |

### Special honors

* Grand Cross with Collar, Jewels and Swords was awarded only once, to Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim 4 June 1944.
* Grand Cross with Jewels, to three Finns: Senator Otto Stenroth 1938, Foreign Minister Carl Enckell 1946 and Jean Sibelius 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.