Kaarlo Edvard Kivekäs (6 December 1866, in

Valkeala Valkeala is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland, and is a neighborhood of city of Kouvola, and it was a part of the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality had a population of 11,238 (2003) and cove ...

– 19 February 1940, in

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; ; ; or ''Croneburgum'') is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Kanta-Häme. It is located in the southern interior of the country and on the shores of Vanajavesi, Lake Vanajavesi. The population of Hämeenlinna is appr ...

; original name ''Karl Edvard Backman'' until 1880) was a Finnish general. Educated at Hamina Cadet School (1886–1890), he served in the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

from 1890 on, in the Pamir area, under the command of, M.E. Ionova, the leader of a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Expedition in 1893, he was fluent in Shughni, Tajik, Uzbek, and Kyrgyz, and reportedly understanding of the traditions and cultures of the people of the Pamir area, who purportedly held him in high regard, ending his service there as a Lieutenant Colonel on October 13, 1908, and later Kivekäs served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, becoming a Major General on September 23, 1916. After 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 ...

, he returned to Finland, being accepted as a Major General sometime around 1918. He also was the

Chief of Defence A chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national ...

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 ...

in 1919. Kivekäs is the recipient of the Latvian military

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, ), the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of Jānis Balodis, the Commander of the Latvian Army during the Latvian War of Independ ...

, 2nd class.

References

External links

The Finnish Defence Forces: Chiefs of Defence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kivekas, Kaarlo Edvard 1866 births 1940 deaths People from Valkeala People from Viipuri Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Imperial Russian major generals Finnish lieutenant generals Russian military personnel of World War I People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class

References

Further reading

External links