Jarl Holger Wahlström (9 July 1918 – 3 December 1999) was the 12th General of

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

(1981–86).

Biography

Born to Colonel Rafael Wahlström, he was the youngest of five children. He grew up in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, as his father was the training principal. He became a Christian when he was seven years old. In 1937, he entered the International Training College in

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, as a cadet in the Enthusiasts session, becoming an officer in 1938. His first appointment was assistant officer at the

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

Corps. When

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began, he was conscripted into the military for four years. The last two years of his military service were spent as battalion chaplain. He fought against the

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, during the

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and 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 ...

. Upon his return in 1944, he married Lieutenant Maire Nyberg. He was appointed Finland's territorial scout organiser when the war ended. Seven years later, he was moved to the

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

division as the youth secretary. In 1963, he was appointed to the position of training principal for Finland. A year later, he became a Knight of the

Order of the Lion of Finland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

because of his work in the

Scout Movement Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including ...

. Wahlström's first overseas appointment came in 1972, when he took up the position of chief secretary for the

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and

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Territory. He went on to become territorial commander in Finland in 1976 and then in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1981. He was elected to the office of General later that year. As General, he headed an International Leader's Conference of The Salvation Army in Berlin 1984 and a Holy Land Congress a year later. He also led the International Youth Congress in 1985 in

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, USA. This was the first worldwide Salvation Army youth gathering since 1950 and the first international Salvation Army conference to be held outside the UK. In 1986, Wahlström retired from active service, moving back to Helsinki. After a lengthy illness, he died in 1999.

Legacy

He wrote song 857 in ''The Salvation Army Song Book'' (1986 version), "Great Joy Is Found in Serving Jesus". He was honoured with the Order of Civil Merit of South Korea receiving the Mugunghwa Medal in 1983. He gained an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. Once West ...

in 1985. Wahlström was honoured by

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

with a Paul Harris Fellowship in 1987 and was made a commander of the

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all ...

in Finland in 1989. General Wahlström has also been credited with promoting the internationalization of the Salvation army, and furthering its

ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

dialogue. He sought to find the "balance between denominationalism and ecumenism" and to "have an open mind and a sincere will to co-operate with Christians of other Churches".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wahlstrom, Jarl 1918 births 1999 deaths Finnish Salvationists Finnish Christian religious leaders Salvation Army officers Scouting and Guiding in Finland Knights of the Order of the Lion of Finland Recipients of the Order of Civil Merit (Korea)