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Arne Somersalo | |
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 Somersalo dressed in IKL party uniform. He is wearing theIron Cross, awarded during his service in theImperial German Army. | |
| Commander of theFinnish Air Force | |
| In office 1920–1926 | |
| Preceded by | Sixtus Hjelmmann |
| Succeeded by | Väinö Vuori |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Arne Sakari Sommer (1891-03-18)18 March 1891 |
| Died | 17 August 1941(1941-08-17) (aged 50) |
| Cause of death | Killed in action |
| Citizenship | Finnish |
| Political party | Lapua Movement,Patriotic People's Movement |
| Alma mater | University of Helsinki,University of Jena |
| Occupation | Military officer |
| Known for | Soldier, activist |
| Awards | Order of the Cross of Liberty,Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class[1] |
Arne Sakari Somersalo (bornArne Sommer; 18 March 1891 – 17 August 1941) was aFinnish officer andanti-communist activist.[2]
Somersalo was educated at theUniversity of Helsinki before studyingnatural sciences at theUniversity of Jena.[3] Based inGermany during theFirst World War he enrolled in theGerman Army as an officer in 1916, serving until the armistice.[3] He would later claim that the war had been the death of oldEurope and argued that one of its main positives was that it had "rescued our nation from the deadly, slimy embrace of a lothsomecuttlefish" in reference toRussia.[4] He transferred straight to theFinnish Army and from 1920 to 1926 was the commander of theFinnish Air Force.[5]
He became involved in politics in 1926 when he started editing theright wing journalValkoinen Vartio and then founded the fiercely anti-communist Finnish Defence League.[5] He joined theLapua Movement in 1930 then thePatriotic People's Movement (IKL) in 1932, serving as a delegate to theParliament of Finland for the latter from 1933 to 1935 forTurku.[5] He was also theeditor-in-chief of the IKL party newspaperAjan Suunta from 1931 to 1935.[2] Ideologically he was a supporter ofcorporatism and was close tofascism.[5] In 1934, Somersalo was arrested for making insulting statements against Estonian PresidentKonstantin Päts. He was sentenced to four months in prison.[6]
Recalled to active service for theWinter War, Somersalo acted as Chief of Staff for the frontline inSuomussalmi and was awarded theOrder of the Cross of Liberty for his actions.[2][5] During theContinuation War, he acted as aliaison officer for the GermanSS divisionNord inFinnish Lapland.[2] He waskilled in action near Kiestinki (Kestenga), USSR on 17 August 1941.[5]
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