Woldemar von Daehn

His family was originally from Braunschweig in Germany, where his grandfather stepped into service for Russia. Through his wife the grandfather became a landowner in Finland in 1784. His sons Johan, Alexander, and Karl were entered into the House of Nobility in 1836.Johan and Karl became soldiers and Alexander, the only one with a university education, farmed land. Marrying Maria Charlotta Amalia von Wilde, he had six children of whom Woldemar was the second youngest. The oldest of the sons, Alexander Gustaf, inherited the Sippola mansion.^[2][3][1] Like two of his older brothers, Woldemar went to Hamina Cadet School.^[2]

All five of his children died without leaving children of their own, and the family of von Daehn was registered as ended in the Finnish House of Nobility in 1971 when his youngest son Peter, the last male member of the family, died in Rome.^[1]

Over the years he progressed through the ranks first in the Finnish military and then the Imperial Russian Army, becoming a colonel in 1869. In 1871, he married Princess Nina Svjatopolk-Mirskij.^[1] He served as an officer in the Imperial Russian Army for 20 years, serving in the Caucasus region.

In 1873 an accident changed the course of his career. He was riding alongside the Caucasian viceroy, Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, when the carriage horses bolted. Von Daehn managed to calm the horses and saved the Grand Duke, but his foot was crushed in the process and he walked with a severe limp for the rest of his life. This brought his career as a field officer to an end.^[1]

He returned to Finland in 1882 when he was appointed the governor of the Vyborg province.^[1] In 1885 he was appointed head of the Civil Expedition and became a member of the Senate of Finland, where he often had heated debates with Leo Mechelin.^[1][2] Despite his imposing appearance, von Daehn was known for his reticence and reserve, qualities that earned him the nickname "the Sphinx".^[1]

He became Minister–Secretary of State for Finland in 1891, serving until 1898.^[1] He faced numerous difficult conflicts regarding what were seen as reductions of Finnish autonomy in the 1890s, such as the 1890 Postal Manifest [fi] by tsar Alexander III and disputes concerning criminal law and the constitutional status of the Grand Duchy of Finland.^[2]

When Alexander III died on 1 November 1894, von Daehn acted immediately. On the same day he telegraphed the new emperor to request an audience, and once this was granted he travelled at once to Livadia and obtained Nicholas II's signature on a regency assurance for Finland. By acting swiftly, von Daehn forestalled the political crisis that many had feared.^[1]

Von Daehn had submitted requests to resign on grounds of ill health toward the end of 1897 and again in April 1898. When he finished his regular briefing for the emperor at Tsarskoye Selo on 8 June 1898, Nicholas II asked whether he had brought his resignation request for signing. His resignation was granted on 11 June 1898, with the emperor adding the words "and with gratitude" to the imperial rescript — an unusually warm farewell.^[1] He died aged 62 in Rome, Italy.^[2]