born Nov. 27, 1870, Tampere, Fin.
died Dec. 14, 1956, Helsinki
Finnish statesman.
He served in the Finnish parliament (1907–13), as minister of finance (1908–09), and as independent Finland's first prime minister in 1918. After World War I, he was prominent as a banker and businessman. As minister to Sweden (1936–39), he negotiated a treaty to end the Russo-Finnish War (1940). After World War II, he served as Finland's prime minister (1944–46) and later president (1946–56). While accepting the necessity of friendly relations with the Soviet Union, he was uncompromising in his defense of Finnish independence and resisted the growth of communist influence in Finland.