Editing Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (section)

===End of war and presidency===
[[File:Mannerheimin valinta 1944.jpg|thumb|Mannerheim was elected president by an emergency law passed by parliament in early August 1944]]
[[File:Mannerheim ja Paasikivi.jpg|thumb|Mannerheim with his presidential successor [[J. K. Paasikivi]] (''right'') and his wife Alli Paasikivi in March 1946.]]

In June 1944, Baron Gustaf Mannerheim, to ensure German support while a major Soviet offensive was threatening Finland, thought that it was necessary to agree to the pact the German Foreign Minister [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] demanded. But even then Mannerheim distanced himself from the pact, and it fell to President [[Risto Ryti]] to sign it, so it came to be known as the [[Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement]]. This allowed Mannerheim to revoke the agreement upon the resignation of President Ryti at the start of August 1944. Mannerheim succeeded Ryti as president.<ref name="Virkkunen"/><ref name=Zetterberg>Zetterberg, Seppo et al., eds. (2003) "A Small Giant of Finnish History" ''(Suomen historian pikkujättiläinen)''</ref>

When Germany was deemed sufficiently weakened, and the [[Soviet Union|USSR]]'s summer offensive was fought to a standstill (see [[Battle of Tali-Ihantala]]) thanks to the June agreement with the Germans, Finland's leaders saw a chance to reach a peace with the Soviet Union.{{sfnp|Screen|2000|page=205}} At first, attempts were made to persuade Mannerheim to become prime minister, but he rejected them because of his age and lack of experience running a civil government. The next suggestion was to elect him [[head of state]]. Risto Ryti would resign as president, and parliament would appoint Mannerheim as regent. The use of the title ''regent'' would have reflected the exceptional circumstances of Mannerheim's election. Mannerheim and Ryti both agreed, and Ryti submitted a notice of resignation on 1 August. The [[Parliament of Finland]] passed a special act conferring the presidency on Mannerheim on 4 August 1944. He took the oath of office the same day.<ref name="Virkkunen"/><ref name="Zetterberg"/>

[[File:Mannerheim Leaving Presidents Residence.png|thumb|right|[[Marshal of Finland|Marshal]] [[Baron]] Mannerheim leaves the [[Presidential Palace, Helsinki|Presidential Palace]] in [[Helsinki]] on 4 March 1946 after his short presidency]]
A month after Mannerheim took office, the [[Continuation War]] was concluded on harsh terms, but ultimately far less harsh than those imposed on the other states bordering the [[Soviet Union]]. Finland retained its sovereignty, its parliamentary democracy, and its market economy. Territorial losses were considerable; a portion of [[Karelia]] and all [[Petsamo Province|Petsamo]] were lost. Numerous [[Karelia]]n refugees needed to be relocated. The war reparations were very heavy. Finland also had to fight the [[Lapland War]] against withdrawing German troops in the north, and at the same time demobilize its own army, making it harder to expel the Germans;<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C68xN5lTN6EC&pg=PA87 | editor1=Kinnunen, Tiina |editor2=Kivimäki, Ville | title=Finland in World War II: History, Memory, Interpretations |year=2011 | page=87 | publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] | isbn=978-9004208940 }}</ref> Mannerheim appointed Lieutenant General [[Hjalmar Siilasvuo]] as the high commander of the army to take this action.<ref>[https://ilkkaenkenberg.com/2015/08/03/lapin-sodan-alku/ Ilkka Enkenberg: Lapin sodan alku] (in Finnish)</ref><ref>[https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2006/09/08/lapin-sodan-tuhot YLE Elävä arkisto: Lapin sodan tuhot] (in Finnish)</ref> It is widely agreed that only Mannerheim could have guided Finland through these difficult times, when the Finnish people had to come to terms with the severe conditions of the armistice, their implementation by a Soviet-dominated [[Allied Control Commission]], and the task of post-war reconstruction.<ref name="Zetterberg"/>

Before deciding to accept the Soviet demands, Mannerheim wrote a missive directly to Hitler:<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nenye|first1=Vesa|last2=Munter|first2=Peter|last3=Wirtanen|first3=Toni|last4=Birks|first4=Chris|title=Finland at War: the Continuation and Lapland Wars 1941–45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zb6gCwAAQBAJ|year=2016|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|isbn=978-1472815262}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Our German brothers-in-arms will forever remain in our hearts. The Germans in Finland were certainly not the representatives of foreign despotism but helpers and brothers-in-arms. But even in such cases foreigners are in difficult positions requiring such tact. I can assure you that during the past years nothing whatsoever happened that could have induced us to consider the German troops intruders or oppressors. I believe that the attitude of the German Army in northern Finland towards the local population and authorities will enter our history as a unique example of a correct and cordial relationship ... I deem it my duty to lead my people out of the war. I cannot and I will not turn the arms which you have so liberally supplied us against Germans. I harbour the hope that you, even if you disapprove of my attitude, will wish and endeavour like myself and all other Finns to terminate our former relations without increasing the gravity of the situation.}}

Mannerheim's term as president was difficult for him. Although he was elected for a full six-year term, he was 77 years old in 1944 and had accepted the office reluctantly after being urged to do so. The situation was exacerbated by frequent periods of ill-health, the demands of the Allied Control Commission, and the [[War-responsibility trials in Finland|war responsibility trials]]. He was afraid throughout most of his presidency that the commission would request his prosecution for [[crimes against peace]]. This never happened. One of the reasons for this was Stalin's respect for and admiration of the Marshal. Stalin told a Finnish delegation in Moscow in 1947 that the Finns owed much to their old Marshal. Due to Mannerheim, Finland was not occupied.{{sfnp|Meri|1990|page=397}} Despite Mannerheim's criticisms of some of the demands of the Control Commission, he worked hard to carry out Finland's armistice obligations. He also emphasised the necessity of further work on reconstruction in Finland after the war.<ref name="Virkkunen"/><ref name="Zetterberg"/>

Mannerheim was troubled by recurring health problems during 1945, and was absent on medical leave from his duties as president from November until February 1946. He spent six weeks in Portugal to restore his health.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://suomenkuvalehti.fi/jutut/kotimaa/raihnainen-mannerheim-teki-salaperaisen-matkan-portugaliin-rantaloman-aikana-kaikkosi-riski-sotasyyllisyystuomiosta/|title=Raihnainen Mannerheim teki salaperäisen matkan Portugaliin, rantaloman aikana kaikkosi riski sotasyyllisyystuomiosta|first=Tomi|last=Hinkkanen|date=June 4, 2021|work=[[Suomen Kuvalehti]]|access-date=June 4, 2021|language=fi}}</ref> After the announcement of the verdicts in the war crimes trials in February, Mannerheim decided to resign. He believed that he had accomplished the duties he had been elected to carry out: The war was ended, the armistice obligations carried out, and war responsibility trials finished.

Mannerheim resigned as president on 4 March 1946, giving as his reason his declining health and his view that the tasks he had been selected to carry out had been accomplished.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/03/05/archives/mannerheim-quits-office-in-finland-resigns-in-finland.html|title=Mannerheim Quits Office In Finland; Resigns In Finland|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=5 March 1946|access-date=4 March 2024}}</ref> He was succeeded as president by the conservative Prime Minister [[J. K. Paasikivi]].<ref name="Zetterberg"/>