Enzio Siilasvuo: Enzio Siilasvuo of Finland, a soldier at the age of 19, was wounded twice in the second World War. He eventually became the senior UN general in the Middle East, as chief co-ordinator of the various UN forces there.
Soldier and diplomat, he was a great servant of the United Nations Organisation, an impressive man who never tried to impress, calm, wise and decisive, economic with words and unflurried by personalities and events.
Siilasvuo is a great name in Finland. His father was Col Hjalmar Siilasvuo, a hero of the Winter War (1939-40). His outnumbered ski troops, using guerrilla tactics, inflicted stunning defeats on invading Soviet divisions at Suomussalmi and Kuhno on the Central Front.
Finland's stand resounded worldwide. Small countries could not easily identify with the great armies in the European phoney war. They had numbers, equipment, reinforcement capabilities and national interests we would never have. "The strong are different from us," to paraphrase Scott Fitzgerald. But the Finns showed that belief in one's cause, sound training and determination to fight could do great things. Enzio Siilasvuo was promoted captain at the age of 22, ending the war as chief of staff of an infantry regiment. He graduated from War College in 1952. His first UN peacekeeping role (1957) was as Finnish Contingent Commander in UN Emergency Force I ( UNEF1) in the Sinai area. In the following year he served with the UN Observer Group in Lebanon (UNOGIL), where Irish officers first met him.
In 1965 he commanded the Finnish Contingent in Cyprus. So he was well qualified to become Deputy Chief of Staff and then Chief of Staff (1970) of the UN Truce Supervisory Organisation (UNTSO) in Jerusalem. After the 1973 October War he was made Commander of UNEF II in the Sinai and then chief co-ordinator of UN Forces in the Middle East.
He had a Scandinavian attitude to languages. "You arrive in a new country, you learn a new language". The writer has heard him address UN medal parades in Polish, Russian, German and French. He spoke Arabic and was rumoured to know Hebrew. He did not interfere with the generals he co-ordinated. In difficult situations he would wait until their efforts were exhausted, turn diplomat, and move to discussion with the relevant defence minister. Trusted in Egypt, Israel and Syria, he rarely failed.
His book In the Service of Peace in the Middle East recalls an "Irish-sounding observer" exercising initiative on a radio link. "I asked the observer to report to me the following morning and so began the long co-operation between the Irish Captain Joe Fallon and myself." Fallon accompanied him everywhere. Siilasvuo also wrote highly of his senior staff officer, Col P.D. Hogan, "a man with a deep knowledge of history and an exceptional command of the English language."
A great Finn, with the best attributes of his people and country, has passed on.
Enzio Siilasvuo: born 1922, died January 4th, 2003.