Aleksander Einseln (born 25 October 1931, in Tallinn, died 16 March 2017) was a former Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces. He held that position from 4 May 1993 to 20 December 1995.

Biography

Born in Estonia, Einseln fled that country with his mother in 1944 as the Soviets reoccupied the Baltic states after the retreat of German troops. He immigrated to the United States in 1949 and became a U.S. citizen. He enlisted in the Army and served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars and was a one-time staff officer with the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and NATO in Brussels, retiring with the rank of colonel.

In 1993, at the request of Estonian President Lennart Meri, Einseln returned to Estonia to take command of its military forces, over the objections of the U.S. State Department. The U.S. threatened to terminate Einseln's military pension and even to revoke his U.S. citizenship. However, after getting support from several U.S. senators, Einseln received official permission from the U.S. authorities to take on his new post.

In January 1995, after the start of the First Chechen War, Einseln issued a decree stating that in the event of foreign troops crossing the border, Estonian Defence Forces were obligated to immediately initiate active resistance, and not cease fighting until ordered to do so by the President of Estonia. This was intended as a mechanism to prevent surrender without resistance as had happened in 1939. In 2014, after the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, active Commander-in-Chief General Riho Terras noted that Einseln's decree is still in force.

On 4 December 1995, General Einseln had been forced to resign due to a disagreement with the Minister of Defense.

In February 1996, he was awarded the Order of the Cross of the Eagle.