Finland-USA Embassy 1936-1939

[gottschs]

Does anyone have information on who was the ambassador in the USA, the ambassador's deputy, secretary, and the military liaison's from 1936-1939? Also trying to figure out what type of delegation came over to the USA in 1939 during the Winter War to buy equipment...did they come over by a normal shipping line or did the ambassador's office do the buying of equipment? Thanks in advance for any help.

[Mangrove]

Does anyone have information on who was the ambassador in the USA, the ambassador's deputy, secretary, and the military liaison's from 1936-1939?

Finnish Ambassadors to United States of America

Eero Järnefelt, Envoy (ambassador), 1934-1938
Hjalmar Procopé, Envoy (ambassador) , 1939-1944

See also The United States and Finland: An Enduring Relationship 1919–1989.

Also trying to figure out what type of delegation came over to the USA in 1939 during the Winter War to buy equipment...did they come over by a normal shipping line or did the ambassador's office do the buying of equipment?

The Embassy would buy equipment based on the orders of the Finnish Defence Forces and use money taken from a special account by the State of Finland during the Winter War. The Embassy would also sell the excess unshipped equipment, mainly to the Americas, after the Winter War had ended.

[Seppo Koivisto]

A delegation consisting of Lieutenant General V.P. Nenonen, CEO of the Wärtsilä Corporation Wilhelm Wahlforss and B. Grönblom as secretary left Finland on 6 December 1939 and arrived in Washington on December 21st.

[John T]

If you find a copy of Jacobs, Travis Berle
"America and the Winter War, 1939-1940"
it contains an detailed account in English, both from US and Finnish side, and within state department.

https://books.google.se/books/about/Ame ... edir_esc=y

when you say "did they come over by a normal shipping line or did the ambassador's office do the buying of equipment? "

Did you refer to the delegation or the goods supplied to Finland?
( I know the Swedish delegation took train to Italy and then Italian liner to New York,
and if the Finnish delegation took 15 days to get to US I think they used the same route


And
Robert W. Matson.
Neutrality and Navicerts: Britain, the United States, and Economic Warfare, 1939–1940.
(New York: Garland, 1994. xiv, 195 pp. ISBN 0-81531651-8.)

Contains some context on US neutrality, deliveries to the neutrals and the conflict with UK.


Cheers
/John

[gottschs]

They everyone for the help. Sorry the confusion, yes, I meant in what way did a team come over (if any did) and the 2nd statement should have been a separate follow-on question about if a team didn't come over, did the embassy staff do the acquisition of equipment. Both answered great.

[gottschs]

Does anyone know how large the embassy staffs were in New York and Washington DC from 1937-1939?

[Seppo Koivisto]

When Finnish diplomats were deported in 1944, the embassy in Washington DC had the ambassador and three embassy assistants. When the consulate in New York was closed by US request in 1943, it had two officials that were moved to Washington. Probably the staff was larger before Barbarossa.
https://fi.usembassy.gov/our-relationsh ... y-history/
https://finlandabroad.fi/web/usa/histor ... l-new-york
http://213214149015.edelkey.net/public/ ... ture=en-US