Carl Fredrik Ralph Alexander Enckell (13 May 1913, in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

– 18 May 2001, in Helsinki) was a Finnish diplomat. Enckell was employed by the

Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

since 1934. He was Secretary of State in Stockholm from 1944 to 1945, in Paris from 1945 to 1950 and in Moscow from 1950 to 1954, and as Head of the Political Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 1955 and 1959. Enckell served as Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations from 1959 to 1965, Ambassador to Stockholm 1965-1969,

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Representation in

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1969-1976, continued at the Finnish Embassy in

, at the same time in

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1972-1976 and in

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from 1976 to 1980. Enckell's successor as Head of the Political Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador of the United Nations and Ambassador to Stockholm was Max Jakobson. Ralph Enckell received the Special Envoy and Plenipotentiary title in 1957 and was honored as Honorary Professor of Political Science at the

University of Turku sv, Åbo universitet , latin_name = Universitas Aboensis , image_name = University of Turku.svg , motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle'' , established = 1920 , type ...

in 1970. His exceptional merit as a diplomat was awarded in 1978 by the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President ...

. Enckell was known in the diplomatic circles as a colorful person. When the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

was widely criticized by the Swedish Minister of Education, later Prime Minister Olof Palme condemned the

occupation of Czechoslovakia Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

in 1968, Enckell categorically characterized the difference between the neutrality policy of Sweden and Finland: ”''Finland seeks to manage its relations both east and west as well, Sweden as badly''.” Enckell's words burst into Palme's ears in time, and he was deeply frustrated with his mind. According to Ilkka Pastinen, Enckell was temperamental and demanding, with an emphasized

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

and many feared superior. Enckell starred under the pseudonym Ilmari Mänty in

Nyrki Tapiovaara Nyrki Tapiovaara, born 10 September 1911 in Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki, died 29 February 1940, was a Finnish film director. He belonged to the Tulenkantajat group which promoted modernist ideas in Finnish culture. Tapiovaara's film career only last ...

's film The Stolen Death in 1938. However, his remained the only movie which he acted. He was married twice: between 1936 and 1948, Marie-Christine Söderhjelm and 1949 until his death with Laura Virkkusen (Snellman until 1935). Academician Rabbe Enckell was the little brother of Ralph Enckell's father. In addition to his mother tongue

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, Enckell perfectly controlled

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

. His language skills were largely already canceled by the childhood home: his father,

Carl Enckell Carl Johan Alexis Enckell (7 June 1876 – 26 March 1959) was a Finnish politician, diplomat, officer and businessman. Enckell followed his father's footsteps in the Russian military and rose to the Imperial Russian Guard. As he was not satisfi ...

, was a Swedish-speaking diplomat and

-born mother Lucy Marie Frieda Agathe Margareta Ponsonby-Lyons. During his father's Envoy career in Paris in the 1920s, Ralph had attended a French school. While working in the 1950s at the Embassy of Finland in Moscow, Enckell thoroughly studied Russian.Ilkka Pastinen: ''Uusi maailmanjärjestys: kylmästä sodasta globalisaatioon'', s. 157–158. Helsinki: Otava, 2007. Ralph was Lieutenant General

Oscar Enckell Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

's nephew. In 2013, when one hundred years after the birth of Ralph Enckell, a biography of Markku Reimaa was published by the ''Magician of the Diplomacy''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enckell, Ralph Ambassadors of Finland to Sweden Ambassadors of Finland to France Ambassadors of Finland to Poland Permanent Representatives of Finland to the United Nations 1913 births 2001 deaths Finnish people of English descent Swedish-speaking Finns