Traditional cadet graduation ceremony on Friday - 164 cadets march in the centre of Helsinki

The 108th Cadet Course and the 91st Midshipman Course graduate from the Bachelor of Military Sciences programme on 30 August 2024. The Supreme Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, President of the Republic Alexander Stubb will promote the 164 graduates to the rank of Lieutenant in the Presidential Palace's Hall of State. The graduation day with its traditional ceremonies will be a memorable event for the young officers. The public is welcome to some of the festivities either on-site or online.

The basic goal of the Bachelor of Military Science programme is to provide the Finnish Defence Forces and the Border Guard with highly educated, qualified officers who have acquired extensive, both theoretical and practical knowledge and skills in military issues. In addition to the 180-credit Bachelor degree studies, the cadets have completed military vocational studies (30 cr) required for a commission as an officer.

The graduation day will begin in the National Defence University’s Hall of Heroes, where the graduates will lay a wreath in memory of the cadet officers killed in war.  As per tradition, the cadets will then proceed to Hietaniemi Cemetery where they lay a wreath at the Cross of the Heroes and at the grave of Marshal Mannerheim.

After Honours, the cadets will line up by the Parliament House, the starting point of the march, which then proceeds along Mannerheimintie and Pohjoisesplanadi to the Presidential Palace. The marching unit will be composed of the Cadet Course Leader, the Commandants of the Service Academies, the 108th Cadet Course and the 91st Midshipman Course, flag guards from the Military, Army, Naval and Air Force Academies as well as the Guards Band. President Stubb will promote the cadets to the rank of lieutenant and appoint them to officers’ posts in the Defence Forces and the Border Guard. Alongside the President, the new lieutenants will be congratulated by Antti Häkkänen, the Finnish Minister of Defence, and the Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, General Janne Jaakkola. Families of the graduates have also been invited to celebrate this milestone in young officers’ career.

The wreath laying ceremony at the Hietaniemi cemetery at 8.20 am and the march from the Parliament House to the Presidential Palace starting at 9.10 am are open to the public. The maps below indicate the areas where the public can gather to watch the wreath laying and the march. 

The ceremony in the Presidential Palace's Hall of State starting at 9.45 can be followed on the Office of the President of the Republic’s website at: https://presidentti.videosync.fi/live

The number of new Bachelors in Military sciences by programme. Cadets appointed to the Finnish Border Guard after graduation study in the same programmes. The number of these cadets is 27.

Army Programme     107
Air Force Programme     15
Officer Pilots' Programme    18
Navy Programme    24