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 two sons, were Emilia, Elsa, Siilas, Tyyne and Eetu. As the son of a poor family, Juho Kekkonen had to go to work in the forest and ended up at a log working ground in Kangasniemi in 1898.
The two youngsters got to know each other and they were married in 1899.
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 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 until 1982.
There was a smoke sauna in the yard, where Urho Kekkonen was born on 3 September 1900.
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).
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 moved along with Juho Kekkonen's forestry work to Kuopio in 1906 and to Lapinlahti in 1908.
The youngest child of the family, Jussi, was born in 1910. ===Early life=== The son of Juho Kekkonen and Emilia Pylvänäinen, Kekkonen was born in Pielavesi, in the Savo region of Finland, and spent his childhood in Kainuu.
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. 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.
He was also an athlete whose greatest achievement was to become the Finnish high jump champion in 1924 with a jump of .
While studying he worked for the security police EK between 1921 and 1927, where he became acquainted with anti-communist policing.
Matti Kekkonen served as 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. In 1927 Kekkonen became a lawyer and worked for the Association of Rural Municipalities until 1932.
Kekkonen took 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.
Kekkonen chaired Suomalaisuuden Liitto, another nationalist organisation, from 1930 to 1932.
Matti Kekkonen served as 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. In 1927 Kekkonen became a lawyer and worked for the Association of Rural Municipalities until 1932.
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 the organisation's support for the 1932 far-right Mäntsälä rebellion.
Kekkonen chaired Suomalaisuuden Liitto, another nationalist organisation, from 1930 to 1932.
In 1933, Kekkonen joined the Agrarian League (later renamed the Centre Party) and in the same year also became a civil servant at the Ministry of Agriculture.
Kekkonen took 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.
During his time there Kekkonen 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 time there Kekkonen 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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. Before becoming president, he had served as Prime Minister of Finland (1950–53, 1954–56), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1952–53, 1954), Speaker of the Finnish Parliament (1948–50), Minister of Justice (1936–37, 1944–46, 1951) and Minister of the Interior (1937–1939, 1950–1951).
In 1944, he again became Minister of Justice, serving until 1946, and had to deal with the war-responsibility trials.
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.
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.
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.
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. Before becoming president, he had served as Prime Minister of Finland (1950–53, 1954–56), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1952–53, 1954), Speaker of the Finnish Parliament (1948–50), Minister of Justice (1936–37, 1944–46, 1951) and Minister of the Interior (1937–1939, 1950–1951).
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.
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. Before becoming president, he had served as Prime Minister of Finland (1950–53, 1954–56), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1952–53, 1954), Speaker of the Finnish Parliament (1948–50), Minister of Justice (1936–37, 1944–46, 1951) and Minister of the Interior (1937–1939, 1950–1951).
Kekkonen also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for periods in 1952–1953 and 1954, concurrent with his prime ministership. ===President of Finland=== ====Overview==== During Kekkonen's term, the balance of power between the Finnish Government and the President tilted heavily towards the President.
Known for his authoritarian personality, he was ousted in 1953 but returned as Prime Minister from 1954 to 1956.
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. Before becoming president, he had served as Prime Minister of Finland (1950–53, 1954–56), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1952–53, 1954), Speaker of the Finnish Parliament (1948–50), Minister of Justice (1936–37, 1944–46, 1951) and Minister of the Interior (1937–1939, 1950–1951).
Known for his authoritarian personality, he 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. ===President of Finland=== ====Overview==== During Kekkonen's term, the balance of power between the Finnish Government and the President tilted heavily towards the President.
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 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 until 1982.
Known for his authoritarian personality, he was ousted in 1953 but returned as Prime Minister from 1954 to 1956.
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. ====First term (1956–62)==== In the presidential election of 1956, Kekkonen defeated the Social Democrat Karl-August Fagerholm 151–149 in the electoral college vote.
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. 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.
Matti Kekkonen served as 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. In 1927 Kekkonen became a lawyer and worked for the Association of Rural Municipalities until 1932.
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, a coalition government led by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and including Kekkonen's party Agrarian League, was formed.
Kekkonen sided with the Soviet Union, working behind the scenes against the cabinet; Fagerholm's cabinet consequently resigned in December 1958.
State Department website) in November 1958.
The crisis was resolved by Kekkonen in January 1959, when he privately travelled to Moscow to negotiate with Khrushchev and Andrei Gromyko.
In 1959, Vennamo founded the Finnish Rural Party, the forerunner of the nationalist True Finns. ====Second term (1962–68)==== In the 1960s Kekkonen was responsible for a number of foreign-policy initiatives, including the Nordic nuclear-free zone proposal, a border agreement with Norway, and a 1969 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
In 1959, Vennamo founded the Finnish Rural Party, the forerunner of the nationalist True Finns. ====Second term (1962–68)==== In the 1960s Kekkonen was responsible for a number of foreign-policy initiatives, including the Nordic nuclear-free zone proposal, a border agreement with Norway, and a 1969 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
The crisis hurt the freedom of the parties to compose coalition governments, so that after the crisis, Kekkonen was seen as the only authority for deciding which parties can participate in cabinets. The second time the Soviets helped Kekkonen came in the Note Crisis in 1961.
However, in October 1961, the Soviet Union sent a diplomatic note demanding common military exercises against the West in reference to the Finno-Soviet Treaty.
Parties competing against Kekkonen attempted to form an anti-Kekkonen alliance, "Honka-liitto", to promote Chancellor of Justice Olavi Honka, a non-partisan candidate, in the 1962 presidential elections.
As a result, Honka dropped his candidacy, leaving Kekkonen with a clear majority (199 / 300 electors) in the 1962 elections.
Only when Kekkonen's term ended did governments remain stable throughout 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.
Following 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. ====Third term (1968–78)==== Kekkonen was re-elected for a third term in 1968.
Matti Kekkonen served as 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. In 1927 Kekkonen became a lawyer and worked for the Association of Rural Municipalities until 1932.
In 1959, Vennamo founded the Finnish Rural Party, the forerunner of the nationalist True Finns. ====Second term (1962–68)==== In the 1960s Kekkonen was responsible for a number of foreign-policy initiatives, including the Nordic nuclear-free zone proposal, a border agreement with Norway, and a 1969 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
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. ====Third term (1968–78)==== Kekkonen was re-elected for a third term in 1968.
He had begun to suffer occasional brief memory lapses as early as the autumn of 1972; they became more frequent during the late 1970s.
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.
He had begun to suffer occasional brief memory lapses as early as the autumn of 1972; they became more frequent during the late 1970s.
However, Kekkonen began to see Karjalainen as a rival instead, and eventually rejected the idea. ====Term extension (1973)==== On 18 January 1973, the enacting of an emergency law saw Kekkonen's presidency extended by four years.
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).
Kekkonen had also suffered from a failing sense of balance since the mid-1970s and from enlargement of his prostate gland since 1974.
He hosted the European Conference on Security and Co-operation in Helsinki in 1975 and was considered a potential candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize that year.
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. ====Fourth term (1978–82)==== After nine political parties supported Kekkonen's candidacy in the 1978 presidential election, including the Social Democratic, Centre and National Coalition parties, no serious rivals remained.
The silver coin was issued on Kekkonen's birthday on 3 September 1975 to commemorate the president's 75th birthday.
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. ====Fourth term (1978–82)==== After nine political parties supported Kekkonen's candidacy in the 1978 presidential election, including the Social Democratic, Centre and National Coalition parties, no serious rivals remained.
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.
Urho's Pub in honour of Kekkonen being a regular patron. ==In popular culture== The vote count from the 1978 elections was broadcast on the radio, and has been shown numerous times in television documentaries.
He was also subject to occasional violent headaches and suffered from diabetes from the autumn of 1979.
In 1980 Kekkonen was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize. ===Later life=== From December 1980 onwards, Kekkonen suffered from an undisclosed disease that appeared to affect his brain functions, sometimes leading to delusional thoughts.
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 1981.
Prime Minister Mauno Koivisto finally dealt a defeat to Kekkonen in 1981.
He went on medical leave on 10 September, before finally resigning due to ill health on 26 October 1981, aged 81.
The silver collector's coin that pays homage to Kekkonen was issued in 1981 when he had served 25 years as the president.
In 2010, the Mint of Finland is re-released coins minted in 1981 from its vaults. *President U. K.
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 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 until 1982.
Kekkonen's authoritarian behavior during his presidential term was one of the main reasons for the reforms of the Finnish Constitution in 1984–2003.
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 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 until 1982.
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 died at Tamminiemi in 1986, three days before his 86th birthday, and was buried with full honours.
The monotonous reading out of the votes, in groups of five, is still well-recognised in Finnish popular culture, and broadly quoted and paraphrased; "Kekkonen, Kekkonen, Kekkonen, Kekkonen, Kekkonen." Matti Hagelberg uses a caricature of Kekkonen as the main character in his comic album with the same name. A portrait of Kekkonen is stolen by the protagonist of the 1988 Aki Kaurismäki film Ariel.
In 2010, the Mint of Finland is re-released coins minted in 1981 from its vaults. *President U. K.
This banknote was declared Finland's most beautiful note according to voting organised by the commemorative coins and medal marketer Suomen Moneta on 1 April 2011. To date, President Kekkonen is the only Finnish person to have a collector coin issued in his honour during his lifetime. * 25 years of presidency (Silver jubilee) of U. K.
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