Tankmar Horn
Minister Tankmar Horn | |
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Viipuri, Finland | |
Died | 16 March 2018 | (aged 93)
Education | MEcon |
Board member of |
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Spouses |
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Parent(s) | Walter Emil Waldemar Horn Zelia Anita née Buttenhoff |
Awards |
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Manager of Wärtsilä | |
In office 1 January 1971[3] – 1978 (1987) | |
Preceded by | Bertel Långhjelm |
Succeeded by | Tor Stolpe[2] |
Tankmar Horn (16 August 1924 – 16 March 2018[4]) was a Finnish diplomat, economist, and businessman.
Due to his father's position as
Horn spent a couple of year long periods of secondment in a number of countries. He ended up negotiating
In 1969 Horn got managerial position in multi industrial company Wärtsilä and in the beginning of 1971 he became the managing director. During Horn's era the company internationalised through acquisitions and opening sales offices in many countries. The most significant investment was building entirely new Perno shipyard in Turku. After stepping aside from the company leadership Horn continued as board member. A dramatic event during his membership was the bankruptcy of Wärtsilä Marine, that took place in 1989.
Early years and studies
Horn's parents were
Career as official
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent him to Warsaw for 1953–1955 and to Washington, D.C. for 1955–1957. In 1957–1960 Horn was department secretary and acting department manager. During 1960–1961 Horn was positioned in Buenos Aires and in 1961–1963 in Geneva. Horn worked as department deputy director in 1963–1965 and ministerial adviser in 1966. He was the trade political department manager in 1967–1969.[2]
As a high-profile department manager, Horn could act relatively independently reporting directly to Minister of Foreign Affairs
Horn also took part in planning Nordek, a joint Nordic project for an own economic community, which eventually failed. Prime Minister Mauno Koivisto led the negotiations, and during the process there came dissensions between him and Horn; this had a long-term effect on their mutual relationships.[2]
Wärtsilä
Already during the Nordek negotiations, Horn was recruited to a leading position in the multi industrial company Oy Wärtsilä Ab. At first he worked as deputy director in 1969–1970,[2] and in the beginning of year 1971 he followed Bertel Långhjelm as managing director.[3]
Back then, the company structure was such as its long-term manager
Wärtsilä had opened a new facility for paper machine production in Järvenpää in 1970[5] and moving of operations was on-going when Horn started his directorship.[2]
When Horn started as manager, a previously prepared plan of building a new shipyard in Turku was launched as a project. Construction of
During Horn's era Wärtsilä started to internationalise increasingly. Wärtsilä-owned porcelain producer
The company structure was changed in small steps during Horn's leadership. His previous experience in foreign affairs proved useful when Wärtsilä negotiated about icebreaker deliveries to Soviet Union. In 1978 Wärtsilä changed to system of two managers; Horn focused high-level management and public relations, and the operative management was given to Tor Stolpe. The arrangement worked well in Wärtsilä and was kept until Horn's retirement in 1987.[2]
Shortly before leaving his post, Horn participated in a large-scale ownership arrangement between Wärtsilä and Valmet. Wärtsilä sold its paper machine production to Valmet, and shipyards of both companies were put under one company, Wärtsilä Marine, from which Wärtsilä's share was 70%. Wärtsilä Marine fell in a scandalous bankruptcy in 1989. Horn was chairman of board in Wärtsilä until it merged with Oy Lohja Ab. He continued still for a few years as board member of the succeeding Metra company.[2]
During his Wärtsilä leadership Horn held positions of trust in employers' associations. His strength was a good relationship with president Urho Kekkonen, whom he consulted in trade political questions. Due to his statements regarding oil crisis, he went to disputes with the Neste manager Uolevi Raade. Horn took part in forming Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA and in the 1980s he was member of board also in other Finnish industrial companies.[2]
References
- ^ Death notice in Helsingin Sanomat, 25 March 2018, p. C 15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Vesikansa, Jyrki (13 October 2004). "Horn, Tankmar (1924–2018)". Kansallisbiografia (in Finnish). Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- ^ ISBN 951-50-0735-6.
- ^ Sandvik, Catrin (18 March 2018). "Wärtsiläs Tankmar Horn har avlidit". Hufvudstadsbladet (in Swedish). p. 6.
- ^ a b Komulainen, Pekka; Tuomisto, Martti. "Järvenpään tehtaan kalanterit" [Järvenpää factory calenders]. Papermakers' Wiki (in Finnish). Paper Engineers' Association. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2016.