Johannes Virolainen

Johannes Virolainen 1955

Johannes Virolainen , Valtioneuvos [ ˈjɔhɑnːɛs ˈvirɔlɑi̯nɛn ] (born January 31, 1914 in the rural municipality Viipuri ; † December 11, 2000 in Lohja ) was a Finnish politician and prime minister.

Karelian origin and World War II

Virolainen was born near the Karelian city of Viipuri , which was then the second largest city in Finland. After the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, Karelia fell to the Soviet Union. Virolainen was subsequently evacuated and settled in Lohja , where he became one of the leaders of the Karelian refugees.

Virolainen, who was a staunch member of the abstinence movement , once said he would drink his first beer when the Soviet Union returned Karelia to Finland.

Political career

Member of Parliament, Party Chairman and Speaker of Parliament

Virolainen began his political career in 1945 when he was elected member of the Reichstag . There he represented the interests of the Landbund until 1983 and later again from 1987 to 1991, which was renamed the Finnish Center Party (KESK) in 1965 .

After the Landbund was renamed KESK, he was elected chairman of the Center Party in 1965. He held this office until 1980 and was next to the then President Urho Kekkonen the second most powerful man in the KESK.

From 1966 to 1968 and from 1979 to 1983 he was also President of the Reichstag . From 1982 to 1983 he was President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union .

Minister and Prime Minister 1964 to 1966

Virolainen belonged to several governments as ministers in different departments between 1950 and 1979. With 6,169 office days as Minister and Prime Minister, he had the longest term of office of any Finnish minister.

From 1950 to 1951 he was Vice Minister for the Interior. He was later a Minister in the State Chancellery (1951 and 1956 to 1957). In addition, he was Minister of Education (1953, 1954 and 1956 to 1957). From October 1954 to March 1956, from May to November 1957 and from August to December 1958 he was Foreign Minister. He was also Minister of Agriculture from 1961 to 1962 and 1962 to 1963. He was also Deputy Prime Minister in 1957, 1958 and 1962 to 1963.

On September 12, 1964 he himself became Prime Minister of a coalition government made up of the KESK, the Swedish People's Party (SFP-RKP) , the Liberal People's Party and the National Collection Party (Kokoomus) . In 1965 he was also elected chairman of the KESK. After the left slide in the parliamentary elections of March 1966, Virolainen resigned as Prime Minister on May 27, 1966 and was replaced by Rafael Paasio of the Social Democratic Party.

Virolainen was again Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education from 1968 to 1970. He was Minister of Finance from 1972 to 1975, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry from 1976 to 1979 and finally Deputy Prime Minister from 1977 to 1979.

Most recently, Virolainen ran unsuccessfully against Mauno Koivisto for the office of President in 1982 .

Biographical sources and background information

Web links

Commons : Johannes Virolainen - Collection of images, videos and audio files

personal data
SURNAME	Virolainen, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Finnish politician, member of the Reichstag and Prime Minister
DATE OF BIRTH	January 31, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH	Viipuri
DATE OF DEATH	December 11, 2000
Place of death	Lohja