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Order of the Cross of Liberty

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There are three official orders in Finland: the Order of the Cross of Liberty (Finnish: Vapaudenristin ritarikunta; Swedish: Frihetskorsets orden), the Order of the White Rose of Finland 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.

The Order of the Cross of Liberty was founded on March 4, 1918, upon the initiative of General C.G. Mannerheim. The renowned Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela was commissioned to design the Order's insignia with the swastika. Once Mannerheim had approved the drawings, the first decorations were ordered, on April 15, 1918.

At first there were seven classes: grand cross, cross of liberty (1st to 4th class) and the medal of liberty (1st and 2nd class). The decorations of the Order of the Cross of Liberty were initially conferred only in time of war. But to safeguard the operations of the Order after the war, a decree was issued on August 18, 1944 enabling the decorations to be awarded also in peace time.

The Cross of Liberty has a red ribbon when it is granted in war time and a yellow ribbon when it is awarded in time of peace.

Classes

The Presidential Standard of Finland has a Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class on its upper left corner

The classes of the Order of the Cross of Liberty are:

  1. Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Liberty
  2. Cross of Liberty, 1st Class with star, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty
  3. Cross of Liberty, 1st Class, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty
  4. Cross of Liberty, 2nd Class, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty
  5. Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty
  6. Cross of Liberty, 4th Class, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty
  7. Medal of Liberty, 1st Class, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty
  8. Medal of Merit, 1st Class, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty
  9. Medal of Liberty, 2nd Class, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty
  10. Medal of Merit, 2nd Class, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty

Associated with the Order is the Mannerheim Cross, which is discussed in a separate article.

Mourning Cross

Other special decorations awarded during wartime include:

  • Medal of Liberty 1st Class on Rosette Ribbon (only awarded once)
  • Gold Medal of Merit (only awarded once)
  • Cross of Mourning (Given to the closest female relative of a soldier killed in action)
  • Medal of Mourning (Given to the closest female relative of a person killed in non-military duty of war industry or national defence.)

External links

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