Ossian Donner

Who was Ossian Donner?

Ossian Donner was a Finnish industrialist, engineer, senator and diplomat. He was the son of professor Otto Donner and grandson of shipowner Anders Donner from Kokkola.

Donner was the initiator of the wool works in Hyvinkää and he remained the Managing Director of the company until 1918. During the Finnish civil war his Scottish wife Violet McHutchen witnessed the execution of Russian officers in the park outside their home in Helsinki. The shocking experiences of the war made the family move to London, England in 1919, where Ossian Donner became independent Finlands first emissary to Great Britain. He was also his countries special emissary to the League of Nations during the Åland crisis.

Ossian Donner was relieved of his duties as Finnish ambassador in 1925 because of his criticism of czarist Russia during the time when Finland was an autonomous Grand Duchy under Russian rule. This strained Finland's relationship with the Soviet Union which led to the end of his career as a Finnish civil servant. After that he settled in England for good, becoming a British citizen. His son, Patrick Donner, became a Conservative Member of Parliament for West Islington and Basingstoke and was knighted in 1953.