Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kekkonen was born on the 3rd of September 1900 inside a small log cabin called Lepikon torppa in Pielavesi. His father Juho worked as a forestry manager and his mother Emilia tended cattle near Haahkala lands. Twelve generations of Kekkonen ancestors were peasants from eastern Finland who practiced slash-and-burn agriculture. The family lived modestly but did not suffer from poverty during Kekkonen's childhood years. He spent his early life in Kainuu before moving to Kuopio in 1906 and Lapinlahti in 1908.
During the Finnish Civil War Kekkonen fought for the White Guard in the Kajaani chapter. He participated in battles at Kuopio, Varkaus, Mouhu, and Viipuri while leading mop-up operations including firing squads in Hamina. He later admitted to having killed a man in battle though he claimed he was randomly selected by his company commander to follow an escort squad that turned out to be a firing squad. After the war he completed military service in a car battalion from 1919 to 1920 finishing as a sergeant.
Kekkonen first worked as a journalist in Kajaani before moving 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 met his future wife Sylvi Salome Uino who was a typist at the police station. They had two sons named Matti born in 1928 and Taneli also born in 1928.
Kekkonen had a reputation as a heavy-handed violent interrogator during his years in the security police. Some communists he interrogated confirmed his account of being a humane good cop while others accused him of particular violence. 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. He eventually resigned from the EK after criticizing his superiors.
In 1927 Kekkonen became a lawyer and worked for the Association of Rural Municipalities until 1932. He took a Doctor of Laws degree in 1936 at the University of Helsinki where he edited the student newspaper Ylioppilaslehti from 1927 to 1928. He was also an athlete whose greatest achievement was becoming the Finnish high jump champion in 1924 with a jump of 1.85 meters.
As president Kekkonen continued 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 led by the Social Democratic Party included 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 war-responsibility trials. 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 until Fagerholm's cabinet resigned in December 1958.
The crisis was resolved by Kekkonen in January 1959 when he privately traveled to Moscow to negotiate with Khrushchev and Andrei Gromyko. This established Kekkonen as having extra-constitutional authority to determine which parties may participate in government effectively restricting free parliamentary formation of governing coalitions for many years ahead.
The second time the Soviets helped Kekkonen was in the Note Crisis in 1961. In October 1961 the Soviet Union sent a diplomatic note proposing military consultations as provided by the Finno-Soviet Treaty. Several parties competing against Kekkonen had formed an alliance called Honka-liitto to promote Chancellor of Justice Olavi Honka a non-partisan candidate in the 1962 presidential elections.
As a result of the Soviet note Honka dropped his candidacy leaving Kekkonen with a clear majority of 199 out of 300 electors in the 1962 elections. Following the Note Crisis genuine opposition to Kekkonen disappeared and he acquired an exceptionally strong later even autocratic status as the political leader of Finland. He typically favored appointing popular front cabinets composed of centrist and left-wing parties trusted by the Soviet Union while leaving out the major right-wing National Coalition Party.
Kekkonen consolidated power within the Centre 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 lower levels. Chairman of the Centre Party Johannes Virolainen was threatened by Kekkonen with dissolution of parliament when Kekkonen wanted to nominate SDP's Sorsa instead of Virolainen as Prime Minister.
On the 18th of January 1973 the Finnish Parliament extended Kekkonen's presidential term by four years with a Derogation law which was an ad hoc law made as an exception to the constitution. By this time Kekkonen had secured backing from most political parties but the major right-wing National Coalition Party stood in the way of the required five-sixths majority.
Concurrently Finland was negotiating a free-trade agreement with the EEC a deal that was seen as vital by Finnish industry since the United Kingdom had left European Free Trade Association to become 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 the term extension.
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 assistance of a caretaker government. In 1975 considered the peak year of his career Kekkonen resolved a domestic political crisis by pressuring party leaders into joining a new popular front cabinet in front of television cameras. He was elected to his fourth and final term by overwhelming margin in 1978 winning 259 out of 300 electoral college votes.
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 autumn 1972 which became more frequent during late 1970s. Around same time Kekkonen's eyesight deteriorated so much that for last few years in office all official papers had to be typed in block letters.
Kekkonen also suffered from failing sense of balance since mid-1970s and enlargement of prostate gland since 1974. He was subject to occasional violent headaches and suffered from diabetes from autumn 1979. Rumors about declining health began circulating in mid to late 1970s but press attempted to silence these rumors to respect president privacy.
The 80-year-old president then began seriously considering resigning most likely in early 1982 after Prime Minister Mauno Koivisto stated under constitution prime minister and cabinet were responsible to Parliament not President. Kekkonen asked Koivisto to resign but he refused. This is generally seen as death knell of Kekkonen era since Kekkonen who felt loss of significant authority never fully recovered from shock caused by event.
Kekkonen died at Tamminiemi on the 31st of August 1986 three days before his 86th birthday and was buried with full honors. His heirs restricted access to diaries and later an authorized biography by Juhani Suomi was commissioned author subsequently defending interpretation of history therein while denigrating most other interpretations. Critics have questioned value of this work; historian Hannu Rautkallio considered biography little else than 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 policies and actions. He often used what was termed Moscow card when authority threatened though he was not only Finnish politician with close relations to Soviet representatives. His authoritarian behavior during presidential term was one of main reasons for reforms of Finnish Constitution in 1984, 2003.
The Urho Kekkonen National Park Finland second largest national park is named after him. The Urho Kekkonen museum opened in Tamminiemi in 1987. In Helsinki former Kampinkatu renamed Urho Kekkosen katu in 1980. Such was impact on Finnish political scene that Kekkonen appeared on Mk.500 banknote during term as president.
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Common questions
When and where was Urho Kekkonen born?
Urho Kekkonen was born on the 3rd of September 1900 inside a small log cabin called Lepikon torppa in Pielavesi. His family lived modestly but did not suffer from poverty during his childhood years.
What role did Urho Kekkonen play during the Finnish Civil War?
During the Finnish Civil War Urho Kekkonen fought for the White Guard in the Kajaani chapter and participated in battles at Kuopio Varkaus Mouhu and Viipuri. He later admitted to having killed a man in battle while leading mop-up operations including firing squads in Hamina.
How long did Urho Kekkonen serve as President of Finland?
Urho Kekkonen served as President of Finland until his death on the 31st of August 1986 three days before his 86th birthday. He was elected to his fourth and final term by overwhelming margin in 1978 winning 259 out of 300 electoral college votes.
Why did the Soviet Union support Urho Kekkonen's presidency?
Evidence from defectors like Oleg Gordievsky and files from the Soviet archives show that keeping Urho Kekkonen in power was indeed the main objective of the Soviet Union in its relations with Finland. The Soviets viewed him as the only acceptable leader and used diplomatic pressure such as the Night Frost Crisis and Note Crisis to ensure his continued rule.
What health issues affected Urho Kekkonen during his final years?
From December 1980 onwards Urho Kekkonen suffered from an undisclosed disease that appeared to affect his brain functions sometimes leading to delusional thoughts. He also experienced failing eyesight requiring block letters for official papers a failing sense of balance enlargement of the prostate gland violent headaches and diabetes from autumn 1979.