Karl-August Fagerholm's third cabinet , also known as the Night Frost Cabinet or the Night Frost Government , was the 44th government of Republic of Finland , in office from August 29, 1958 to January 13, 1959. It was a majority government. The cabinet was formed after the parliamentary election of 1958 .
107-558: Between the election of Urho Kekkonen as President in March 1956 and the 1958 elections, Finland struggled to maintain a stable government, in part due to difficulties in cooperation between the two largest parties (Kekkonen's own Agrarian League and the Social Democrats ) and because every government formed since the 1954 elections had excluded the next largest parties: the left-wing Finnish People's Democratic League (SKDL), organized as
214-465: A Centre Party member of Parliament from 1958 to 1969, and Taneli Kekkonen worked as an ambassador in Belgrade , Athens , Rome , Malta , Warsaw and Tel Aviv . Kekkonen had a reputation as a heavy-handed, violent interrogator during his years in the security police. Conversely, he described himself as taking the role of a humane " good cop " to balance out his older and more abusive colleagues. Some of
321-604: A Doctor of Laws degree in 1936 at the University of Helsinki where he was active in the Pohjois-Pohjalainen Osakunta , a student nation for students from northern Ostrobothnia , and editor-in-chief of the student newspaper Ylioppilaslehti in the period 1927–1928. He was also an athlete whose greatest achievement was to become the Finnish high jump champion in 1924 with a jump of 1.85 metres (6 ft 1 in). He
428-784: A coalition cabinet that included also the Social Democrats, Fagerholm could concentrate on his role as party chairman and remained outside the cabinet. It was Fagerholm's conviction that Communists could not be defeated with repressive methods that had been tried since the Civil War. Communism was to be countered in free debate and free elections. The battle of the late 1940s was that in the trade unions in which boards and representatives were elected proportionally. The Social Democrats succeeded more often than not to fend off or reverse Communist takeovers. When new parliament elections were held in July 1948,
535-701: A paperboy for Hufvudstadsbladet and later as a barber , and was also briefly chairman (1920–1923) of the Barbers' Union. In 1930, he was elected member of Finland's Parliament . In the 1920s and the 1930s, the main challenge for the Social Democrats was the rehabilitation after the Finnish Civil War , in which the Social Democrats had belonged to the defeated side. A revival of anti-socialist opinion had in Finland like in many countries in Continental Europe led to
642-557: A right-wing shift in public opinion and the emerge of the semi- fascist Lapua Movement . One consequence was that socialists were barred from the Cabinet 1929 to 1937. Principles of parliamentarism again were finally heeded in 1937, when Fagerholm became Minister for Social Affairs in a series of Cabinets from 1937 to 1943. In government, Fagerholm was one of the chief executors of the neutralist Scandinavia -orientation, which had increasingly been seen by Conservatives and Socialists in
749-543: A sergeant . In independent Finland, Kekkonen first worked as a journalist in Kajaani then moved to Helsinki in 1921 to study law. While studying he worked for the security police EK between 1921 and 1927, where he became acquainted with anti-communist policing. During this time he also met his future wife, Sylvi Salome Uino (12 March 1900 – 2 December 1974), a typist at the police station. They had two sons, Matti (1928–2013) and Taneli (1928–1985). Matti Kekkonen served as
856-528: A smoke sauna in the yard, where Urho Kekkonen was born on 3 September 1900. The family lived in Lepikon torppa for six years and Urho Kekkonen's sister Siiri was born in 1904. The family moved along with Juho Kekkonen's forestry work to Kuopio in 1906 and to Lapinlahti in 1908. The family had to live modestly but did not suffer from poverty. The youngest child of the family, Jussi , was born in 1910. The son of Juho Kekkonen and Emilia Pylvänäinen, Urho Kekkonen
963-579: A Fagerholm-led coalition cabinet to office. Their chief opponents were the Communists, who had become the largest party in Parliament. Kekkonen did nothing to mitigate a Kremlin fear that Finland would abandon the careful course steered by Paasikivi and Kekkonen since the late 1940s that sought to ensure that Finland would do nothing that conflicted with the interests of the Soviet Union. Finnish membership in
1070-576: A broad "people's front" (or " popular front ") that would include the SKDL and the Skogite SDP alongside conservative parties. Despite this suggestion, it did not remain a priority for the Kremlin that an SKDL-leading government be established; only that Tannerites be excluded from the composition of the new government. Following intermediate negotiations, the task of forming a new government fell upon then- Speaker of
1177-501: A coalition government led by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and including Kekkonen's party Agrarian League , was formed. The Communist front SKDL was left out. This irritated the Soviet Union because of the inclusion of ministers from SDP's anti-Communist wing, namely Väinö Leskinen and Olavi Lindblom . They were seen by the Soviet Union as puppets of the anti-Communist SDP chair Väinö Tanner , who had been convicted in
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#17328525400301284-538: A coalition of parties to the left of the Social Democrats of which the largest was the Communist Party of Finland , and the conservative National Coalition Party . Furthermore, a schism had been developing since the early 1950s within the Social Democratic Party between the right-wing of the party led by Väinö Tanner , who had been a fervent anti-Soviet in his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs during
1391-416: A continuous stream of directives to high officials, politicians, and journalists. Yet Kekkonen by no means always used coercive measures. Some prominent politicians, most notably Tuure Junnila ( NCP ) and Veikko Vennamo ( Rural Party ), were able to brand themselves as "anti-Kekkonen" without automatically suffering his displeasure as a consequence. In the presidential election of 1956 , Kekkonen defeated
1498-509: A courtesy call to Virolainen after the cabinet's appointment. The extent of Soviet pressure on Finland after the appointment of the cabinet was initially economic in nature: negotiations regarding the use of the Saimaa Canal were suspended on grounds that Finland had failed to live up to its side of the agreement and trade deals were held up. Later, Ambassador Lebedev was returned to Moscow and transferred to other duties with no plans to appoint
1605-555: A defeat to Kekkonen in 1981. In April, Koivisto did what no one else had dared to during Kekkonen's presidency by stating that under the constitution, the prime minister and cabinet were responsible to Parliament, not to the President. Kekkonen asked Koivisto to resign, but he refused. This is generally seen as the death knell of the Kekkonen era; Kekkonen, who felt that he had lost a significant amount of his authority, never fully recovered from
1712-474: A firing squad in Hamina . He later admitted to having killed a man in battle, but wrote in his memoirs that he was randomly selected by his company commander to follow a squad escorting ten prisoners, where the squad turned out to be a firing squad, and then to give the actual order to aim and fire. He had to complete further military service after the war, which he did in a car battalion from 1919 to 1920, finishing as
1819-486: A fishing trip to Iceland . He went on medical leave on 10 September, before finally resigning due to ill health on 26 October 1981. There is no report available about his illness, as the papers have been moved to an unknown location, but it is commonly believed that he suffered from vascular dementia , probably due to atherosclerosis . Kekkonen withdrew from politics during his final years. He died at Tamminiemi on August 31, 1986, three days before his 86th birthday, and
1926-659: A joined Soviet - Finnish military exercise . Third, he believed that by working for as long as possible he would remain healthy and live longer. Kekkonen's most severe critics, such as Veikko Vennamo , claimed that he remained President so long mainly because he and his closest associates were power-hungry. In 1980 Kekkonen was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize . From December 1980 onwards, Kekkonen suffered from an undisclosed disease that appeared to affect his brain functions, sometimes leading to delusional thoughts. He had begun to suffer occasional brief memory lapses as early as
2033-558: A log working ground in Kangasniemi in 1898. Emilia Pylvänäinen herded cattle there, on the shores of the Haahkala lands, where Juho Kekkonen worked with other loggers. The two youngsters got to know each other and they married in 1899. The couple moved to Otava , where Juho Kekkonen got a job at the Koivusaha sawmill of Halla Oy . He was later appointed the head of forestry work and caretaker of
2140-531: A parliamentary majority. However, Kekkonen-era cabinets were often in bitter internal disagreement and alliances formed broke down easily. New cabinets often tried to reverse their predecessors' policies. Kekkonen used his power extensively to nominate ministers and to compel the legislature's acceptance of new cabinets. Publicly and with impunity, he also used the old boy network to bypass the government and communicate directly with high officials. Only when Kekkonen's term ended did governments remain stable throughout
2247-608: A range of economic issues and trying to leave little doubt in the minds of Finns that having Fagerholm as prime minister would be exceedingly costly. Finally, on 21 October 1958, Soviet Ambassador Viktor Lebedev was suddenly recalled from Finland. Immediately afterwards, there was a new crisis over the memoirs of Yrjö Leino , who had been Finland's Communist Minister of the Interior in the crucial period from 1945 to 1948 period and had been living in retirement ever since. The Soviets were highly displeased with Leino's writing his memoirs, and
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#17328525400302354-480: A rival instead, and eventually rejected the idea. On 18 January 1973, the Finnish Parliament extended Kekkonen's presidential term by four years with a Derogation law (an ad hoc law made as an exception to the constitution). By this time, Kekkonen had secured the backing of most political parties, but the major right-wing National Coalition Party , which Kekkonen had opposed, was still skeptical and stood in
2461-461: A rudimentary farmhouse with no chimney were later proved to be false—a photograph of Kekkonen's childhood home had been retouched to remove the chimney. His school years did not go smoothly. During the Finnish Civil War , Kekkonen fought for the White Guard ( Kajaani chapter), fighting in the battles of Kuopio, Varkaus , Mouhu , and Viipuri , and taking part in mop-up operations, including leading
2568-457: A strict schedule, with penalties for late shipments. By inciting strikes and other disturbances at moments critical for scheduled delivers, the Soviet Union tried to strengthen the influence of the domestic Communists and to exert direct pressure on the government. Fagerholm was elected chairman of Finland's Social Democrats. Väinö Tanner had to resign since he was seen with the uttermost suspicion by Finnish Communists by many Social Democrats, by
2675-433: A successor. Urho Kekkonen Urho Kaleva Kekkonen ( Finnish pronunciation: [ˈurho ˈkɑlevɑ ˈkekːonen] ; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK , was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as prime minister (1950–1953, 1954–1956), and held various other cabinet positions. He
2782-423: A vigorous campaign against incumbent President Juho Kusti Paasikivi to finish third in the first and only ballot, receiving 62 votes in the electoral college , while Paasikivi was reelected with 171. After the election, Paasikivi appointed Kekkonen Prime Minister where in all his five cabinets , he emphasised the need to maintain friendly relations with the Soviet Union. Known for his authoritarian personality, he
2889-537: Is not known where the Kekkonens came to Savonia from, there has been speculation that they are from Karelia as people with the name were known to have lived in certain settlements of the Karelian Isthmus for centuries. Kekkonen himself thought it possible that the family might instead originate from Western Finland, for example from Tavastia , where there have been place names connected to their surname from as early as
2996-444: The 1956 Finnish presidential election Fagerholm would have won if two electors had voted otherwise; he got 149 votes to Urho Kekkonen's 151. Fagerholm instead succeeded Kekkonen as prime minister for a four-party coalition cabinet. During his second term as prime minister, in 1956 to 1957, he visited the Soviet Union, and relations appeared to have improved. After a period out of office, the general elections of July 1958 again brought
3103-601: The 1978 presidential election , including the Social Democratic, Centre and National Coalition parties, no serious rivals remained. He humiliated his opponents by not appearing in televised presidential debates and went on to win 259 out of the 300 electoral college votes, with his nearest rival, Raino Westerholm of the Christian Union , receiving only 25. According to Finnish historians and political journalists, there were at least three reasons why Kekkonen clung on to
3210-648: The Agrarian League (later renamed the Centre Party), became a civil servant at the Ministry of Agriculture and made his first unsuccessful attempt at getting elected to the Finnish Parliament . Kekkonen successfully stood for parliament a second time in 1936 whereupon he became Justice Minister , serving from 1936 to 1937. During his term, he enacted the "Tricks of Kekkonen" ( Kekkosen konstit ), an attempt to ban
3317-596: The Continuation War resulting in his conviction as a "war-culprit" in the war-responsibility trials , and prominent anti-Communist Väinö Leskinen , and the left-wing of the party led by party chairman Emil Skog , which supported collaboration between the SDP and the Agrarian League. This culminated in July 1957, when Tanner was elected chairman of the Social Democrats, beating Skog's bid for re-election. In response to this,
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3424-562: The Eduskunta with 50 of the 200 total seats. The economy was in a downturn period compared to the rapid industrial growth of 1953-1955, culminating in 1955 when the World War 2-era emergency provisions regulating economic activity expired, ending most government control of prices and wages and raising the price level of many goods and services. The general strike in 1956 , led by the SAK, further damaged
3531-568: The Honka-liitto by calling an early parliamentary election and thus forcing his opponents to campaign against each other and together simultaneously. However, in October 1961, the Soviet Union sent a diplomatic note proposing military "consultations" as provided by the Finno-Soviet Treaty . As a result, Honka dropped his candidacy, leaving Kekkonen with a clear majority (199 of 300 electors) in
3638-449: The Ministry of Agriculture . Johannes Virolainen , who was central to the negotiations of the government's formation and would later be appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, reportedly attempted to appeal to Tanner as SDP chairman to exclude Leskinen from the cabinet, but this was flatly rejected by Tanner, who stressed that the SDP's parliamentary group alone had
3745-516: The Moscow peace treaty . During the Continuation War , Kekkonen served as director of the Karelian Evacuees ' Welfare Centre from 1940 to 1943 and as the Ministry of Finance's commissioner for coordination from 1943 to 1945, tasked with rationalising public administration. By that time, he had become one of the leading politicians within the so-called Peace opposition which advocated withdrawing from
3852-600: The National Coalition Party and Liberal parties plus the conservative wing of the Agrarian League . In social policy, Fagerholm's government was notable for passing a public pension law. As leader of the Social Democrats, he was prime minister from 1948 to 1950 despite fierce Communist opposition and accusations by the Soviet Union that he intended to undermine the Finnish-Soviet Treaty by taking Finland into NATO . Even Finland's growing integration into
3959-572: The Nobel Peace Prize that year. He is credited by Finnish historians for his foreign and trade policies, which allowed Finland's market economy to keep pace with Western Europe even with the Soviet Union as a neighbor, and for Finland to gradually take part in the European integration process. On the other hand, his perceived hunger for power, his divide-and-rule attitude in domestic politics and
4066-564: The Nordic nuclear-free zone proposal, a border agreement with Norway, and a 1969 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The purpose of these initiatives was to avoid the enforcement of the military articles in the Finno-Soviet Treaty which called for military co-operation with the Soviet Union. Kekkonen thereby hoped to strengthen Finland's moves toward a policy of neutrality. Following
4173-720: The Nordic Council in 1955 and a progressive increase in trade with the Western world were seen in Moscow as harbingers of the loss of Finland to the West, particularly under a politician like Fagerholm known for Nordic sympathies and US connections. Therefore, in 1958, the Soviet government pursued an escalating policy of economic and other sanctions against the Fagerholm government, canceling discussions on
4280-631: The Paasikivi–Kekkonen doctrine , under which Finland was to retain its independence while maintaining good relations and extensive trade with members of both NATO and the Warsaw Pact . Critical commentators referred to this policy of appeasement pejoratively as Finlandization . He hosted the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe in Helsinki in 1975 and was considered a potential candidate for
4387-647: The Social Democratic Union of Workers and Smallholders (a short-lived SDP faction), the Finnish People's Democratic League (a communist front), and the Swedish People's Party. He received 201 votes in the electoral college, whereas the National Coalition party 's candidate finished second with 66 votes. Vennamo came third with 33 votes. Although Kekkonen was re-elected with two-thirds of the vote, he
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4494-502: The Soviet Union and the Communist Party of Finland . He narrowly lost the presidential election to Urho Kekkonen in 1956 . Fagerholm was born in Siuntio as the youngest child of stonecutter Johan August Fagerholm and Olga Serafina Worbs (née Nordman). The elder Fagerholm died of tuberculosis in June 1901, six months before the birth of his youngest son. Fagerholm had in his youth worked as
4601-546: The Tammi publishing house and convinced him to cancel the January launch of the book. (Eventually, the entire print run of the book was destroyed, but that was long after the end of Fagerholm's term.) Deputy director of Tammi Jarl Hellemann later argued that the fuss about the book was completely disproportionate to its substance, describing the incident as the first instance of Finnish self-censorship motivated by concerns about relations to
4708-679: The Terijoki Government puppet regime during the Winter War and was thus seen as a traitor to Finland. Despite this decision being made during the Kuuskoski Cabinet, Foreign Minister Virolainen received the brunt of the blame, and the Fagerholm government was even denounced in Pravda , the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Ambassador Lebedev had also failed to make
4815-508: The asevelisosialistit , a right-wing anti-communist social democratic faction within the SDP during the Winter and Continuation Wars that was discredited by the Soviet Union and ultimately banned as a fascist group under the Moscow Armistice . Additionally, Fagerholm appointed National Coalition representative Niilo Kosola , son of Lapua Movement founder Vihtori Kosola , as a minister within
4922-602: The war-responsibility trials . Kekkonen had warned against this but was ignored by SDP. The Night Frost Crisis , as coined by Nikita Khrushchev , led to Soviet pressure against Finland in economic matters. Kekkonen sided with the Soviet Union, working behind the scenes against the cabinet; Fagerholm's cabinet consequently resigned in December 1958. The Finnish Foreign Ministry ignored United States offers for help as promised by Ambassador John D. Hickerson in November 1958. The crisis
5029-498: The 15th century. His seventh-great-grandfather Tuomas Kekkonen (born ca. 1630) is first mentioned in documents in Pieksämäki in 1673. He was probably from either Kangasniemi or Joroinen . Twelve generations of Urho Kekkonen's ancestors were peasants from eastern Finland. The paternal side of Kekkonen's family practised slash-and-burn agriculture and the maternal side stayed on their own site. Kekkonen's paternal grandfather Eenokki
5136-404: The 1930s to be Finland's deliverance from the danger of Soviet expansionism. That danger seemed to have increased with fierce Soviet anticapitalist sentiments being met with equally fierce anticommunist sentiments in Finland. As a native Swedish speaker, Social Democrat, former Union leader, and head of the Ministry for Social Affairs, he was just cut out for that task, but the time that he had
5243-607: The 1962 elections. In addition to support from his own party, Kekkonen received the backing of the Swedish People's Party and the Finnish People's Party , a small classical liberal party. Furthermore, the conservative National Coalition Party quietly supported Kekkonen, although they had no official presidential candidate after Honka's withdrawal. Following the Note Crisis, genuine opposition to Kekkonen disappeared, and he acquired an exceptionally strong—later even autocratic—status as
5350-730: The Anthonio scandal in which eight Jewish refugees were deported to the Gestapo on 6 November 1942, prompted Fagerholm to raise the question of his resignation. After the Battle of Stalingrad , when it increasingly became obvious that Nazi Germany was about to be defeated in World War II , the Cabinet of Edwin Linkomies was appointed to seek peace with the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union . Fagerholm
5457-415: The Communists suffered a sharp drop in support, falling from 51 to 38 seats. Communists had demanded the posts of prime minister and either ministry for foreign affairs or internal affairs and so were not included in the new minority cabinet , led by Fagerholm. (There was no communist participation in Finland's government again until 1966. Fagerholm's minority government relied mostly on support by deputies of
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#17328525400305564-418: The Conservative fennoman Paasikivi. Supporters of Kekkonen argue that Fagerholm's contact with the US embassy and pecuniary support from the US could not have been approved by Paasikivi. Although Paasikivi considered both contenders for the position as prime minister as skilful and politically capable, he actually came down more often in favor of Kekkonen, who enjoyed the support of the Soviet leadership. In
5671-432: The EU and the euro. He remained highly popular during his term, even though such a profile approached that of a cult of personality towards the end of his term. He is still popular among many of his contemporaries, particularly in his own Centre Party. Former socialist states: Former (now-defunct) states: Karl-August Fagerholm Karl-August Fagerholm (31 December 1901, in Siuntio – 22 May 1984, in Helsinki )
5778-672: The Parliament Karl-August Fagerholm , a compromise candidate within the SDP who had previously served twice as Prime Minister in 1948 and 1956-1957 and did not have particularly strong ties to the Tanner-Leskinen wing of the party. Despite this, Fagerholm appointed the right-wing former chairman of the SAK Olavi Lindblom as a minister within the Ministry of Transport and Public Works , and Väinö Leskinen (who was, according to Fagerholm's later memoirs, displeased with his assignment, having preferred to be Minister of Transport and Public Works or Minister of Trade and Industry) as Minister of Social Affairs . Both Lindblom and Leskinen had been members of
5885-433: The Presidency. First, he did not believe that any of his successor candidates would manage Finland's Soviet foreign policy well enough. Second, until at least the summer of 1978, he considered there was room for improvement in Finnish-Soviet relations and that his experience was vital to the process. This is exemplified by the use of his diplomatic skills to reject the Soviet Defence Minister Dmitriy Ustinov 's offer to arrange
5992-410: The Scandinavist line had run into a blind alley; and Fagerholm had no more say in the policy discussions that ultimately led to close dependency of Nazi Germany , German troops on Finnish soil , revanchism and to co-belligerence in the Continuation War . During the Continuation War, controversies on 68,000 refugees ' internment in labour camps in the vicinity of German troops, particularly on
6099-549: The Social Democrat Karl-August Fagerholm 151–149 in the electoral college vote. The campaign was notably vicious, with many personal attacks against several candidates, especially Kekkonen. The tabloid gossip newspaper Sensaatio-Uutiset ("Sensational News") accused Kekkonen of fistfighting, excessive drinking and extramarital affairs. The drinking and womanizing charges were partly true. At times, during evening parties with his friends, Kekkonen got drunk, and he had at least two longtime mistresses. As president, Kekkonen continued
6206-410: The Soviet Chrgé d'Affaires Ivan Filippov demanded for Fagerholm's government to prevent their publication. Fagerholm said that the government could legally do nothing since the work had not yet been released and that there was no censorship in Finland. Filippov advised that if Leino's book was published, the Soviet Union would draw "serious conclusions". Later the same, day Fagerholm called Untamo Utrio of
6313-521: The Soviet Union. Kekkonen consolidated his power within the party by placing supporters of the K-linja in leading roles. Various Centre Party members to whose prominence Kekkonen objected often found themselves sidelined, as Kekkonen negotiated directly with the lower level. Chairman of the Centre Party, Johannes Virolainen , was threatened by Kekkonen with the dissolution of parliament when Kekkonen wanted to nominate SDP's Sorsa instead of Virolainen as Prime Minister. Kekkonen's so-called "Mill Letters" were
6420-413: The Tanner-supporting majority and by the critics of the war, sympatisants of the Six and the so-called " peace opposition " concentrated in the Swedophone part of the Labor Union and Social Democracy. The Soviet victory in World War II had greatly improved the prestige of their supporters in Finland. When, in 1946, the Communist-allied Mauno Pekkala finally won an election and became the prime minister of
6527-453: The autumn of 1972; they became more frequent during the late 1970s. Around the same time, Kekkonen's eyesight deteriorated so much that for his last few years in office, all of his official papers had to be typed in block letters. Kekkonen had also suffered from a failing sense of balance since the mid-1970s and from enlargement of his prostate gland since 1974. He was also subject to occasional violent headaches and suffered from diabetes from
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#17328525400306634-472: The autumn of 1979. Rumors about his declining health had begun to circulate in the mid to late 1970s, but the press attempted to silence these rumors to respect the president's privacy. According to biographer Juhani Suomi, Kekkonen gave no thought to resigning until his physical condition began to deteriorate in July 1981. The 80-year-old president then began to seriously consider resigning, most likely in early 1982. Prime Minister Mauno Koivisto finally dealt
6741-512: The changes were initiated by Kekkonen's successors. Although controversial, his policy of neutrality allowed trade with both the Communist and Western blocs. The bilateral trade policy with the Soviet Union was lucrative for many Finnish businesses. His term saw a period of high sustained economic growth and increasing integration with the West. He negotiated entrance into EFTA and thus was an early beginner for Finnish participation in European integration, which later culminated in full membership in
6848-419: The communists he interrogated confirmed the latter account, while others accused him of having been particularly violent. Later, as a minister in the 1950s, he is said to have visited and made peace with a communist he had "beaten up" in an interrogation in the 1920s. Explaining the contradiction of these statements, author Timo J. Tuikka says Kekkonen's interrogation methods evolved over time: "He learned that
6955-416: The dockworker's union and indirectly threatened the stability of the government of Karl-August Fagerholm. The war and the post-war times of economic hardship had motivated government control of prices and wages attempting to hamper inflation. One of the themes in the elections and one of the important objectives for Fagerholm's government was to transfer the handling of incomes policy to negotiations between
7062-441: The entire period between elections. Nevertheless, during Kekkonen's presidency, a few parties were represented in most governments — mainly the Centrists, Social Democrats, and Swedish People's Party — while the People's Democrats and Communists were often in government from 1966 onwards. Throughout his time as president, Kekkonen did his best to keep political adversaries in check. The Centre Party's rival National Coalition Party
7169-418: The father of Urho Kekkonen. Aatu Pylvänäinen, Urho Kekkonen's maternal grandfather, who worked as a farmer at the Tarkkala farm in Kangasniemi , married Amanda Manninen in the summer of 1878 when she was only 16 years old. Their children, three daughters and three sons, were Emilia, Elsa, Siilas, Tyyne, Eetu, and Samuel. As the son of a poor family, Juho Kekkonen had to go to work in the forest and ended up at
7276-434: The fist is not always the most efficient tool, but that booze, sauna and chatting are much better means of obtaining information." These revelatory experiences would significantly influence his career and approach to politics later on. Kekkonen eventually had to resign from the EK after criticising his superiors. In 1927 Kekkonen became a lawyer and worked for the Association of Rural Municipalities until 1932. Kekkonen took
7383-459: The formation of the new government by acting as a middleman between the Kremlin and various Finnish politicians, especially Kekkonen, to convey the suggestions and requests of Moscow in regards to the new cabinet's composition. However, after the government had been fully formed and appointed, the Soviet Union noticed that the right-wing of the SDP, represented by Lindblom and Leskinen, had been given ministerial positions even after Lebedev had informed
7490-420: The invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, pressure for neutrality increased. Kekkonen informed the Soviet Union in 1970 that if it was no longer prepared to recognise Finland's neutrality, he would not continue as president, nor would the Finno-Soviet Treaty be extended. Kekkonen was re-elected for a third term in 1968. That year, he was supported by five political parties: the Centre Party, the Social Democrats ,
7597-445: The lack of genuine political opposition, especially during the latter part of his presidency, significantly weakened Finnish democracy during his presidency. After Kekkonen's presidency, the reform of the Constitution of Finland was initiated by his successors to increase the power of the Parliament and the prime minister at the expense of the president. Kekkonen was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1936 until his rise to
7704-531: The leadership in Sweden and, most importantly, by the Soviet Union. For the third time, like in 1920 and 1930, Fagerholm's main task was to rehabilitate and consolidate the Social Democrats. This time, however, the accusations came from the left . Fagerholm appeared to be the least enthusiastic of the leading advocates for the Continuation War and so could be elected as sort of a compromise candidate, accepted by both
7811-401: The logging business. The couple moved to Pielavesi along with the working grounds, where Juho Kekkonen bought a smoke hut which he later repaired and expanded into a proper house. He built a chimney in the house shortly before the birth of his first son Urho. Because of the beautiful alders growing behind the house, the house became known as Lepikon torppa (" croft of alders"). There was
7918-483: The neutrality policy of President Paasikivi , which came to be known as the Paasikivi–Kekkonen line . From the beginning, he ruled with the assumption that he alone was acceptable to the Soviet Union as Finnish President. Evidence from defectors like Oleg Gordievsky and files from the Soviet archives show that keeping Kekkonen in power was indeed the main objective of the Soviet Union in its relations with Finland. In August 1958, Karl-August Fagerholm's third cabinet ,
8025-466: The organisation's support for the 1932 far-right Mäntsälä rebellion . According to Johannes Virolainen , a longtime Agrarian and Centrist politician, some Finnish right-wingers hated and mocked Kekkonen for the decision and cast him as a power-hungry opportunist. Kekkonen chaired Suomalaisuuden Liitto , another nationalist organisation, from 1930 to 1932. He also published articles in its magazine, Suomalainen Suomi ( Finnish : Finnish Finland ), which
8132-533: The political leader of Finland. Kekkonen's policies, especially towards the USSR , were criticised within his own party by Veikko Vennamo , who broke off his Centre Party affiliation when Kekkonen was elected president in 1956. In 1959, Vennamo founded the Finnish Rural Party , the forerunner of the nationalist True Finns . In the 1960s Kekkonen was responsible for a number of foreign-policy initiatives, including
8239-527: The politicians that this would be looked down upon. The inclusion of Niilo Kosola only made matters worse, as the Soviets had associated the Kosola name with the fascist Lapua Movement within their publications. Finally, the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party of Finland were held at the end of August, however no visa was issued to the Soviet delegation's original member Otto Ville Kuusinen , who had led
8346-499: The presidency. Either prior, during or between his premierships, he served as minister of justice (1936–37, 1944–46, 1951), minister of the interior (1937–39, 1950–51), speaker of the Finnish Parliament (1948–50) and minister of foreign affairs (1952–53, 1954). In addition to his extensive political career, he was a lawyer by education, a policeman and athlete in his youth, a veteran of the Finnish Civil War , and an enthusiastic writer. During World War II , his anonymous reports on
8453-404: The public perception of economic stability, and did little to alleviate the unemployment rate at the time. Furthermore, the election of Väinö Tanner to chairman of the SDP moved the party line towards combating inflation, away from achieving full employment . Despite the communists' victory, a general air of hostility existed between the socialists at-large and the communist movement, exacerbated by
8560-539: The right to determine party ministers, responding: "What are you talking about, young man? We are forming the Finnish Government here, not the Soviet one." Virolainen had been warned by Kekkonen about going into the same government as Leskinen. On August 29, Kekkonen said after appointing the new government: "This was the worst speech I have ever given, but at least it was not written by me." Soviet ambassador to Finland Viktor Lebedev had himself taken an active role in
8667-585: The right-wing, radical Patriotic People's Movement ( Isänmaallinen Kansanliike , IKL). In the end, this effort was found illegal and halted by the Supreme Court . Kekkonen was also Minister of the Interior from 1937 to 1939. He was not a member of the cabinets during the Winter War or the Continuation War . In March 1940, in a meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Finnish Parliament, he voted against
8774-654: The shock caused by this event. Historians and journalists debate the precise meaning of this dispute. According to Seppo Zetterberg, Allan Tiitta, and Pekka Hyvärinen, Kekkonen wanted to force Koivisto to resign to decrease his chances of succeeding him as president. In contrast, Juhani Suomi believed the dispute involved scheming between Koivisto and rival prospective presidential candidates. Kekkonen at times criticised Koivisto for making political decisions too slowly and for his vacillation, especially for speaking too unclearly and philosophically. Kekkonen became ill in August during
8881-606: The so-called Skogist faction of the SDP, who controlled the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), the Social Democratic Youth League of Finland , and the Finnish Workers' Sports Federation , split from the main parliamentary group, taking 13 representatives into opposition. In the 1958 elections, the SKDL received the plurality of the vote (23.2%) and subsequently became the largest party in
8988-535: The split in the SDP itself. As such, it was considered to be out of the question that the SKDL be appointed to any new government; John D. Hickerson , ambassador of the United States to Finland, wrote in a telegram to the State Department that "Communists will not be admitted to government unless President Kekkonen in effect goes nuts." Shortly after the 1958 parliamentary elections, President Kekkonen delegated
9095-508: The task of forming a new government to Eino Kilpi , a representative for the SKDL who had previously been the party's candidate in the 1956 presidential elections, however neither the Tannerite SDP nor the Skogite SDP opposition could accept Kilpi as Prime Minister. Soviet ambassador to Finland Viktor Lebedev informed Kekkonen that Moscow would favour the exclusion of leading Tannerites from whatever government would be formed, and even suggested
9202-405: The term extension. The elimination of any significant opposition and competition meant he became Finland's de facto political autocrat. His power reached its zenith in 1975 when he dissolved parliament and hosted the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in Helsinki with the assistance of a caretaker government. After nine political parties supported Kekkonen's candidacy in
9309-405: The unions and the employers' organizations. In January 1950, the Parliament agreed to increase wages and to end wage controls. Soon afterward, a minority cabinet under Kekkonen assumed power. Wage negotiations ended in an impasse in the spring. A warning of general strike was issued to speed up the negotiations. In the tense situation, Fagerholm, now Speaker of Parliament, brokered a solution that
9416-532: The war and foreign politics received a large audience in the Suomen Kuvalehti magazine. Even during his presidency, he wrote humorous, informal columns ( causerie ) for the same magazine, edited by his long-time friend Ilmari Turja , under several pseudonyms. The Kekkonens are an old Savonian family. The ancestors of Urho Kekkonen most likely settled in the Savonia region before the 16th century. Although it
9523-470: The war, having concluded that Germany, and consequently Finland, would lose. In 1944, he again became Minister of Justice , serving until 1946, and had to deal with the war-responsibility trials . Kekkonen was a Deputy Speaker of the Parliament 1946–1947, and was Speaker from 1948 to 1950. In the 1950 Presidential election, Kekkonen was the candidate of the Finnish Agrarian Party . He conducted
9630-701: The way of the required 5/6 majority. Concurrently, Finland was negotiating a free-trade agreement with the EEC , a deal that was seen as vital by Finnish industry, as the United Kingdom, an important buyer of Finnish exports, had left the European Free Trade Association to become a member of the EEC. Kekkonen implied that only he personally could satisfy the Soviet Union that the deal would not threaten Soviet interests. The tactic secured National Coalition support for
9737-558: The world economy, as demonstrated by its joining the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1949, was viewed with similar suspicion although it served Soviet interests since it contributed to Finland's ability to meet the harsh war reparations requirements of the Paris Peace Treaty . Opposition from the domestic Communists, under Soviet guidance, exemplified by communist strike agitators who in 1949 tried to take over
9844-592: Was a Finnish politician. Fagerholm served as Speaker of Parliament and three times Prime Minister of Finland (1948–50, 1956–57, and 1958–59). Fagerholm became one of the leading politicians of the Social Democrats after the armistice in the Continuation War . As a Scandinavia -oriented Swedish-speaking Finn , he was believed to be more to the taste of the Soviet Union 's leadership than his predecessor, Väinö Tanner . Fagerholm's postwar career was, however, marked by fierce opposition from both
9951-472: Was best at the standing jump. A nationalist at heart, Kekkonen's ideological roots lay in the student politics of newly independent Finland and in the radicalism of the right-wing. He joined the Academic Karelia Society ( Akateeminen Karjala-Seura ), an organisation favouring Finland's annexation of East Karelia , but resigned from it in 1932 along with over 100 other moderate members because of
10058-629: Was born at Lepikon Torppa ("the Lepikko torp "), a small cabin located in Pielavesi , in the Savo region of Finland, and spent his childhood in Kainuu . His family were farmers (though not poor tenant farmers , as some of his supporters later claimed). His father was originally a farm-hand and forestry worker who rose to become a forestry manager and stock agent at Halla Ltd. Claims made that Kekkonen's family had lived in
10165-649: Was buried with full honours. His heirs restricted access to his diaries and later an "authorised" biography by Juhani Suomi was commissioned, the author subsequently defending the interpretation of the history therein and denigrating most other interpretations. Critics have questioned the value of this work; the historian Hannu Rautkallio considered the biography little else than a "commercial project" designed for selling books rather than aiming for historical accuracy. Some of Kekkonen's actions remain controversial in modern Finland, and disputes continue about how to interpret many of his policies and actions. He often used what
10272-510: Was in the Note Crisis in 1961. The most widely held view of the Note Crisis is that the Soviet Union acted to ensure Kekkonen's reelection. Whether Kekkonen himself had organized the incident and to what extent remains debated. Several parties competing against Kekkonen had formed an alliance, Honka-liitto , to promote Chancellor of Justice Olavi Honka , a non-partisan candidate, in the 1962 presidential elections. Kekkonen had planned to foil
10379-599: Was kept in opposition for 20 years despite good election performances. The Rural Party (which had broken away from the Centre Party) was treated similarly. On a few occasions, parliament was dissolved for no other reason than that its political composition did not please Kekkonen. Despite his career in the Centre Party, his relation to the party was often difficult. There was a so-called K-linja ("K policy", named after Urho Kekkonen, Ahti Karjalainen and Arvo Korsimo ), which promoted friendly relations and bilateral trade with
10486-411: Was later renamed as Kanava . Kekkonen spent long periods of time in late- Weimar-era Germany between 1931 and 1933 while working on his dissertation and there witnessed the rise of Adolf Hitler . This alerted him to far-right radicalism and apparently led him to publish Demokratian itsepuolustus (Self-Defense of Democracy), a political pamphlet warning about the danger, in 1934. In 1933 he joined
10593-548: Was not included. The end of hostilities in September 1944 found Finland in a thoroughly weakened state economically . In addition to its human and physical losses, Finland had to deal with more than 400,000 evacuees from the territories once again lost to the Soviet Union. War reparations were another burden for Finland. The reparations paid from 1944 to 1952 amounted to an annual average of more than 2% of Finland's gross national product . The reparations were delivered according to
10700-480: Was ousted in 1953 but returned as Prime Minister from 1954 to 1956. Kekkonen also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for periods in 1952–1953 and 1954, concurrent with his prime ministership. During Kekkonen's term, the balance of power between the Finnish Government and the President tilted heavily towards the President. In principle and formally, parliamentarism was followed with governments nominated by
10807-456: Was part of a landless group grown in the 19th century and lived on temporary work and working as a farmworker . After serving in several houses Eenokki Kekkonen married Anna-Liisa Koskinen. They had four sons, named Taavetti, Johannes, Alpertti and Juho. Juho Kekkonen, the youngest son of the family, who had gone travelling from the family's home in Korvenmökki in the village of Koivujärvi, was
10914-414: Was resolved by Kekkonen in January 1959, when he privately travelled to Moscow to negotiate with Khrushchev and Andrei Gromyko . The crisis established Kekkonen as having the extra-constitutional authority to determine which parties may participate in government, effectively restricting the free parliamentary formation of governing coalitions for many years ahead. The second time the Soviets helped Kekkonen
11021-467: Was so displeased with his opponents and their behaviour that he publicly refused to stand for the presidency again. Vennamo's bold and constant criticisms of his presidency and policies especially infuriated Kekkonen, who labelled him a "cheat" and "demagogue". Initially, Kekkonen had intended to retire at the end of this term, and the Centre Party already began to prepare for his succession by Ahti Karjalainen . However, Kekkonen began to see Karjalainen as
11128-420: Was supported in ballot by a clear majority of trade union members. Fagerholm's relation to the aged president of Finland , Juho Kusti Paasikivi , remained controversial, but the release of the latter's diary has thrown some light on the issue. Supporters of Fagerholm argue that his line in foreign politics was considerably closer to that of Paasikivi, but Fagerholm, in many aspects, was ideologically remote from
11235-491: Was termed the "Moscow card" when his authority was threatened, but he was not the only Finnish politician with close relations to Soviet representatives. Kekkonen's authoritarian behavior during his presidential term was one of the main reasons for the reforms of the Finnish Constitution in 1984–2003. Under these, the powers of Parliament and the prime minister were increased at the expense of presidential power. Several of
11342-514: Was the third and most recent president from the Agrarian League/Centre Party . Head of state for nearly 26 years, he dominated Finnish politics for 31 years overall. Holding a large amount of power, he won his later elections with little opposition and has often been classified as an autocrat . As president, Kekkonen continued the "active neutrality" policy of his predecessor President Juho Kusti Paasikivi that came to be known as
11449-486: Was too short. When the Winter War broke out, suspicions against Finland's "hazardous foreign politics" remained strong, most importantly among leading Social Democrats in Sweden . As the Winter War ended with the loss of Finnish Karelia , that was generally seen as the failure of the neutralist Scandinavia -orientation. As the Soviet Union 's disapproval ended the discussions on a Swedish-Finnish defence co-operation in 1940,
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