Colonel Aladár Antero Zoltán Béla Gyula Árpád Paasonen (December 11, 1898 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

– July 6, 1974 in

Flourtown, Pennsylvania Flourtown is a census-designated place (CDP) in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Flourtown is adjacent to the neighborhoods of Erdenheim, ...

, United States), known as Aladár Paasonen, was a Finnish military officer who served as Chief of Intelligence of the

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces ( fi, Puolustusvoimat, sv, Försvarsmakten) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime the Finnish Border Guard (which i ...

during the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

, and later in the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

. Paasonen was born in

, Hungary, son of the Finnish professor of linguistics

Heikki Paasonen Heikki Paasonen may refer to: * Heikki Paasonen (linguist) (1865–1919), Finnish linguist * Heikki Paasonen (presenter) Heikki Valtteri Paasonen (born ) is a Finnish television presenter. Paasonen came to prominence as the host of '' Idols ...

and his Hungarian wife Mariska Paskay de Palásthy. Paasonen participated in the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

on the White side, reaching the rank of

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

. In 1920, he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. Between 1921 and 1922 he studied at the

École Supérieure de Guerre The ''École supérieure de guerre'' ("Superior School of Warfare") was the most senior military education institute and staff college of the French Army, from 1876 until 1993, when it was merged into the inter-service ' (Joint Defense College), wh ...

, where

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

was among his classmates. In 1923, Paasonen was promoted to captain, in 1926 to major, and in 1929 to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He served as the Finnish

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

in Moscow from 1931 to 1933 and in Berlin in 1933. In 1937, he was promoted to colonel, and he was appointed senior

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

to President

Kyösti Kallio Kyösti Kallio (; 10 April 1873 – 19 December 1940) was a Finnish politician of the Agrarian League who served as the fourth president of Finland from 1937–1940; his presidency included leading the country through the Winter War. He was t ...

. Paasonen was member of the Finnish delegation to Moscow in the negotiations prior to the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

. During the Winter War, he was stationed in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, with a mission to procure weapons and equipment for the Finnish Defence Forces. France awarded him the ''Légion d'honneur'' (1939), rank ''Officier''. During the

, Paasonen commanded a regiment in the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...

and

East Karelia East Karelia ( fi, Itä-Karjala, Karelian: ''Idä-Karjala''), also rendered as Eastern Karelia or Russian Karelia, is a name for the part of Karelia that since the Treaty of Stolbova in 1617 has remained Eastern Orthodox under Russian supremacy ...

, until he was appointed Chief of Intelligence in 1942. He worked in the Military Headquarters in

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; sv, S:t Michel; la, Michaelia) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. The municipality has a population of () (around 34,000 i ...

as one of

Marshal Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as comm ...

's closest aides. After the war, Paasonen, having participated in the

Operation Stella Polaris Operation Stella Polaris was the cover name for an operation in which Finnish signals intelligence records, equipment and personnel were transported into Sweden in late September 1944 after the end of combat on the Finnish-Soviet front in the Se ...

and the

Weapons Cache Case The Weapons Cache Case ( fi, Asekätkentä, sv, Vapengömmoaffären) was a Finnish military plan to continue battle after the ceasefire in 1944, if needed. It concerned a secret and officially unsanctioned military operation following the end of ...

, relocated to Sweden, and was recruited by the French intelligence services, and later by the CIA, working for them in Western Europe in the post-war period. In the late 1950s, the Paasonen family lived on Platenstrasse in Frankfurt while Aladar worked in the I.G. Farben building. Between 1948 and 1952, he helped Marshal Mannerheim write his memoirs in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. He was retired in 1963, living in the United States until his death in 1974. He was buried in a family grave in

Hietaniemi Cemetery The Hietaniemi cemetery ( fi, Hietaniemen hautausmaa, sv, Sandudds begravningsplats) is located mainly in the Lapinlahti quarter and partly in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is the location for Finnish state ...

in Helsinki, Finland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paasonen, Aladar 1898 births 1974 deaths People from Budapest Finnish people of Hungarian descent Finnish military personnel People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Finnish people of World War II People of the Central Intelligence Agency Finnish emigrants to the United States Hungarian emigrants to Finland Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery Finnish expatriates in Spain Finnish expatriates in France Finnish expatriates in Switzerland