Aleksander Einseln is a former commander of the Estonian Defence Forces. He held that position from 4 May 1993 to 4 December 1995.

Biography

Born in Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

, Einseln fled that country with his mother in 1944 as Soviet troops retook the Baltic states from Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

. He immigrated to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1949 and became a U.S. citizen. He enlisted in the Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 and served in the Korean

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 and Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

s and was a one-time staff officer with the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and NATO in Brussels, retiring with the rank of colonel

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...

.

In 1993, at the request of Estonian President Lennart Meri

Lennart Meri

Lennart Georg Meri was a writer, film director and statesman who served as the second President of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Meri was a leader of the Estonian independence movement.-Early life:...

, Einseln returned to Estonia to take command of its military forces, over the objections of the U.S. State Department. The U.S. threatened to terminate Einseln's military pension and even to revoke his U.S. citizenship. However, after getting support from several U.S. senators, Einseln received official permission from the U.S. authorities to take on his new post.

On 4 December 1995, he was forced to resign due to a disagreement with the defense minister.

In February 1996, he was awarded the Order of the Cross of the Eagle

Order of the Cross of the Eagle

The Order of the Cross of the Eagle was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a state order in 1936.The Order of the Cross of the Eagle is bestowed to give recognition for military services and services...

.

External links

• http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20105981,00.html