Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and politician. Mannerheim began his career in the Imperial Russian Army. During the Russian Civil War, Mannerheim briefly served the new revolutionary government, before he grew disenchanted with Communism. He was relieved of duty, and returned home to a newly independent Finland. After playing a crucial role in winning the Finnish Civil War for the "white" side, Mannerheim became regent in 1918, and, acting as an interim head of state, received foreign recognition for the new Republic, and oversaw the institution of a new constitution. He stood for election to the presidency in 1919, but lost, and retired from public life. He returned to service in the 1930s, accepting a position as chairman the nat