# Ralph Enckell > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ralph_Enckell > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ralph_Enckell.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Enckell > Source revision: 1303455146 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Finnish diplomat}} [[File:EnckellWithThant.jpg|thumb|Ralph Enckell (left) hosts [UN Secretary General](/source/UN_Secretary_General) [U Thant](/source/U_Thant) during his visit in Finland in 1962.]] '''Carl Fredrik Ralph Alexander Enckell''' (13 May 1913, in [Helsinki](/source/Helsinki) – 18 May 2001, in Helsinki) was a Finnish diplomat. Enckell was employed by the [Ministry for Foreign Affairs](/source/Ministry_for_Foreign_Affairs_(Finland)) since 1934. He was Secretary of State in [Stockholm](/source/Stockholm) from 1944 to 1945, in Paris from 1945 to 1950 and in Moscow from 1950 to 1954, and as Head of the Political Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 1955 and 1959. Enckell served as [Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations](/source/Permanent_Representative_of_Finland_to_the_United_Nations) from 1959 to 1965, [Ambassador to Stockholm](/source/Embassy_of_Finland%2C_Stockholm) 1965-1969, [OECD](/source/OECD) Representation in [Paris](/source/Paris) 1969-1976, continued at the Finnish Embassy in [Paris](/source/Paris), at the same time in [Unesco](/source/Unesco) 1972-1976 and in [Warsaw](/source/Warsaw) from 1976 to 1980. Enckell's successor as Head of the Political Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador of the United Nations and Ambassador to Stockholm was [Max Jakobson](/source/Max_Jakobson). Ralph Enckell received the Special Envoy and Plenipotentiary title in 1957 and was honored as Honorary Professor of Political Science at the [University of Turku](/source/University_of_Turku) in 1970. His exceptional merit as a diplomat was awarded in 1978 by the [Order of the Lion of Finland](/source/Order_of_the_Lion_of_Finland). Enckell was known in the diplomatic circles as a colorful person. When the [Vietnam War](/source/Vietnam_War) was widely criticized by the Swedish Minister of Education, later Prime Minister [Olof Palme](/source/Olof_Palme) condemned the [occupation of Czechoslovakia](/source/Warsaw_Pact_invasion_of_Czechoslovakia) in 1968, Enckell categorically characterized the difference between the [neutrality policy of Sweden](/source/Swedish_neutrality) and Finland: ”''Finland seeks to manage its relations both east and west as well, Sweden as badly''.” Enckell's words burst into Palme's ears in time, and he was deeply frustrated with his mind.Max Jakobson: ''Tilinpäätös'', s. 101. Helsinki: Otava, 2003. {{ISBN|951-1-18856-9}}. According to [Ilkka Pastinen](/source/Ilkka_Pastinen), Enckell was temperamental and demanding, with an emphasized [patriotic](/source/Patriotism) and many feared superior.Pastinen 2007, s. 162. Enckell starred under the pseudonym Ilmari Mänty in [Nyrki Tapiovaara](/source/Nyrki_Tapiovaara)'s film [The Stolen Death](/source/The_Stolen_Death) in 1938. However, his remained the only movie which he acted.[http://www.elonet.fi/title/ek2b7h/muut Varastettu kuolema (1938): Huomautukset]{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Elonet.fi. Viitattu 13.12.2012. He was married twice: between 1936 and 1948, Marie-Christine Söderhjelm and 1949 until his death with Laura Virkkusen (Snellman until 1935). Academician [Rabbe Enckell](/source/Rabbe_Enckell) was the little brother of Ralph Enckell's father. In addition to his mother tongue [Swedish](/source/Swedish_language), Enckell perfectly controlled [Finnish](/source/Finnish_language), [English](/source/English_language), [French](/source/French_language) and [Russian](/source/Russian_language). His language skills were largely already canceled by the childhood home: his father, [Carl Enckell](/source/Carl_Enckell), was a [Swedish-speaking](/source/Swedish-speaking_population_of_Finland) diplomat and [English](/source/English_people)-born mother Lucy Marie Frieda Agathe Margareta Ponsonby-Lyons. During his father's Envoy career in Paris in the 1920s, Ralph had attended a French school. While working in the 1950s at the [Embassy of Finland in Moscow](/source/Embassy_of_Finland_in_Moscow), Enckell thoroughly studied Russian.Ilkka Pastinen: ''Uusi maailmanjärjestys: kylmästä sodasta globalisaatioon'', s. 157–158. Helsinki: Otava, 2007. Ralph was Lieutenant General [Oscar Enckell](/source/Oscar_Enckell)'s nephew. In 2013, when one hundred years after the birth of Ralph Enckell, a biography of Markku Reimaa was published by the ''Magician of the Diplomacy''. == References == {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Enckell, Ralph}} Category:Ambassadors of Finland to Sweden Category:Ambassadors of Finland to France Category:Ambassadors of Finland to Poland Category:Permanent representatives of Finland to the United Nations Category:1913 births Category:2001 deaths Category:Finnish people of English descent Category:Swedish-speaking Finns --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ralph Enckell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Enckell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Enckell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.