Julius Stjernvall (26 October 1874 – 6 May 1939) was a Finnish engineer, businessman and

vuorineuvos Vuorineuvos ("mining counselor", literally Finnish for "mountain counselor"; sv, bergsråd) is a Finnish honorary title granted by the President of Finland to leading figures in industry and commerce. The title is honorary and has no responsibilit ...

. Stjernvall worked as manager in Finnish branch of

Siemens & Halske Siemens & Halske AG (or Siemens-Halske) was a German electrical engineering company that later became part of Siemens. It was founded on 12 October 1847 as ''Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske'' by Werner von Siemens and Johann Geo ...

1904–1914 and subsequently in

Kone ja Silta Kone- ja Siltarakennus Oy ("Kone ja Silta"; ; "Maskin o. Bro") is a Finnish former engineering company based in Sörnäinen, Helsinki. The 1892 founded company grew heavily in the 1920s and 1930s by acquiring Finnish engineering companies; the pr ...

until 1929; the company grew during his time through new products and

acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

. He was

Minister of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

in the short-lived Lauri Ingman's cabinet in 1918–1919.

Early life and studies

Stjernvall's parents were

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Carl Julius Stjernvall and Maria née Jakovlev. He graduated from Finnish Cadet School in

Hamina Hamina (; sv, Fredrikshamn, , Sweden ) is a List of cities in Finland, town and a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately east of the country's capital Helsinki, in the Kymenlaakso Regions of Finland, reg ...

in 1896. During his studies he served as

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in 132nd Bender

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

Regiment. He was later promoted lieutenant in 1907 when he was already in

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

. Stjernvall continued his studies in Polytechnic Institute in Helsinki and graduated in 1900 as Mechanical Engineer.

Career

During 1904–1914, Stjernvall led technical office of

in Helsinki; in this period the company built the first

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

of Finland in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

and connected Sveaborg to

electrical grid An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power ...

through an

undersea cable Submarine cable is any electrical cable that is laid on the seabed, although the term is often extended to encompass cables laid on the bottom of large freshwater bodies of water. Examples include: *Submarine communications cable *Submarine power ...

. Stjernvall represented

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

and

chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours we ...

Diet of Finland The Diet of Finland (Finnish ''Suomen maapäivät'', later ''valtiopäivät''; Swedish ''Finlands Lantdagar''), was the legislative assembly of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906 and the recipient of the powers of the Swedish Riksda ...

in 1904–1905. In 1914, shortly before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Stjernvall moved to

Kone- ja Siltarakennus Kone- ja Siltarakennus Oy ("Kone ja Silta"; ; "Maskin o. Bro") is a Finnish former engineering company based in Sörnäinen, Helsinki. The 1892 founded company grew heavily in the 1920s and 1930s by acquiring Finnish engineering companies; the pr ...

(Kone ja Silta) as Deputy Director. Due to intense

arms race An arms race occurs when two or more groups compete in military superiority. It consists of a competition between two or more states to have superior armed forces; a competition concerning production of weapons, the growth of a military, and t ...

between the European superpowers prior the war, the company had a good order backlog from the

Russian military The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

; Kone ja Silta produced

munition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weapo ...

and other military supplies, and repaired ships of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a ...

. Stjernvall became company manager in 1917. In the same year, Finland became independent. In 1918,

Swedish People's Party of Finland The Swedish People's Party of Finland ( sv, Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (SFP); fi, Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (RKP)) is a political party in Finland aiming to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finland ...

asked him to join in Lauri Ingman's cabinet as

. Stjernvall agreed, but the cabinet turned out to be short-living, and already after few months, he was back. Kone ja Silta grew strongly during Stjernvall's time. In 1923, the company started producing

Abloy Assa Abloy AB is a Swedish conglomerate whose offerings include products and services related to locks, doors, gates, and entrance automation. Related products and services include controlling access and confirming identities with keys, cards, ...

locks. Kone ja Silta took over Hietalahti Shipyard and Engineering Works on 22 December 1926. The articles of association were changed uniform with Kone ja Silta in December 1927, after which both companies shared the same management. In 1928–1929, the company turnover reached 90 million

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel '' ...

and made 3 million marks' profit. At the time Kone ja Silta employed 1 300 people. Stjernvall was entitled

in 1924. Stjernvall handed over his managerial post of Hietalahti Shipyard and Engineering works to Robert Lavonius on 1 April 1929. At the end of the same year, he submitted his resignation to Kone ja Silta for health reasons. After his resignation, Stjernvall continued in positions of trust in Helsingin Osakepankki (HOP). Between 1918 and 1939, Stjernvall was twice the

chairman of the Board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

Private life and tribute

Stjernvall had no family. A street was named after him, Stjernvallintie in

Kulosaari Kulosaari () is an island and an East Helsinki suburb in Helsinki, Finland. It is also the 42nd Subdivisions of Helsinki#Neighbourhoods, neighbourhood of the city. Construction of villas on the island started in the beginning of the 20th century, ...

, until it was renamed Vuorineuvoksentie in 1958.

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stjernvall, Julius Ministers of Trade and Industry of Finland Businesspeople from Helsinki Finnish chief executives Kone- ja Siltarakennus Swedish People's Party of Finland politicians 1874 births 1939 deaths