Matti Paasivuori (6 May 1866, Ilmajoki - 16 June 1937 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

. Paasivuori was the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party on three occasions: 1909–1911, 1913–1917 and 1926–1930. Paasivuori worked as a carpenter and participated early in the labor movement. He was a pioneer in the labor movement as a leader of the Finnish Trade Union Federation and affected its ideological and political development. Since 1907 he was Member of the

Finnish Parliament The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

(Eduskunta) and participated in the development of occupational safety legislation. He was moderate in his political orientation and gained respect in both ends of the political spectrum. In 1917 he was Deputy Head of Trade and Industry in Oskari Tokoi's Senate, which was the first government in the world led by a Social Democrat. Paasivuori did not take part in the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

of 1918 and after the defeat of the red troops he was for a half year the only representative from the political left who was allowed to participate in the parliament. Paasivuori was the minister of social affairs in the minority government of

Väinö Tanner Väinö Alfred Tanner (; 12 March 1881 – 19 April 1966; surname until 1895 ''Thomasson'') was a leading figure in the Social Democratic Party of Finland, and a pioneer and leader of the cooperative movement in Finland. He was Prime Minister ...

from 1926 to 1927. Paasivuori is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki. Paasivuorenkatu Street in central Helsinki (in

Hakaniemi Hakaniemi (; sv, Hagnäs) is an unofficial district of Helsinki, the Finnish capital. It covers most of the neighbourhood of Siltasaari in the district of Kallio. Hakaniemi is located at the sea shore and is separated from the city centre by the ...

) is named after him.

References