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

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

– July 6, 1974 in Flourtown, Pennsylvania, 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 (FDF) (; ) 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 becomes part of the Finnish Defence For ...

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 during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

, and later in the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

. Paasonen was born in

, Hungary, son of the Finnish professor of linguistics Heikki Paasonen and his Hungarian wife Mariska Paskay de Palásthy. Paasonen participated in the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

on the White side, reaching the rank of sub-lieutenant. In 1920, he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. Between 1921 and 1922 he studied at the

École Supérieure de Guerre École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

, where

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

was among his classmates. In 1923, Paasonen was promoted to captain, in 1926 to major, and in 1929 to lieutenant colonel. He served as the Finnish

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

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 (armed forces), 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 ...

to President

Kyösti Kallio Kyösti Kallio (, 10 April 1873 – 19 December 1940) was a Finnish politician who served as the fourth president of Finland from 1937 to 1940. His presidency included leading the country through the Winter War; while he relinquished the post ...

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

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

. During the Winter War, he was stationed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 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 (; ; ) is the approximately stretch of land situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is a line from the Bay of Vyborg to the we ...

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

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city in, and the regional capital of, South Savo, Finland, located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population is approximately , while the Mikkeli sub-region of Southern Savonia has a populat ...

as one of Marshal Mannerheim's closest aides. After the war, Paasonen, having participated in the Operation Stella Polaris and the Weapons Cache Case, 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 Aladár worked in the

IG Farben building The I.G. Farben Building – also known as the Poelzig Building and the Abrams Building, formerly informally called The Pentagon of Europe – is a building complex in Frankfurt, Germany, which currently serves as the main structure of the West ...

. Between 1948 and 1952, he helped Marshal Mannerheim write his memoirs in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paasonen, Aladar 1898 births 1974 deaths Military personnel from Budapest Finnish people of Hungarian descent Finnish military officers 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