Pro Finlandia Medal Awarded to Anssi Lassila

Anssi Lassila, Professor, architect will receive the Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland. The Medal will be awarded by the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö as the Grand Master of the Orders of Finland today, on December 6, the national Independence Day of Finland. The Pro Finlandia Medal is a special FL decoration, and it is only conferred upon artists and authors. The Order also has a Cross of Merit. This year, the decoration is awarded to 10 recipients in recognition of their contribution to the Finnish culture.

The Order of the Lion of Finland is one of three official order in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The orders are administered by boards consisting of a chancellor, a vice-chancellor and at least four members. The orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland have a joint board.

The Pro Finlandia Medal was established on December 10, 1943, and it was awarded for the first time on February 21,1945 when it was granted to actress and director Mia Backman. Previously the following architects have received the Pro Finlandia Medal: Arto Sipinen 1990, Juha Leiviskä 1992, Kristian Gullichsen 1996, Vilhelm Helander 1998, and Timo Vormala 2013.

For a full list of recipients of the Pro Finlandia Medal, see HERE.

For the recipients of the Pro Finland Medal in 2021, see HERE.