Aira Laila Suvio-Samulin (née Suvio; 27 February 1927 – 23 October 2023) was a Finnish dance teacher and businesswoman.

Life and career

Samulin was born on 27 February 1927 in Ignoila, Salmi, Finland (present-day

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

). The village was part of the municipality of Salmi, until it was annexed to Suojärvi in 1931. Ignoila was the easternmost of the villages in the so-called "Hyrsylä curve". Samulin's father was killed in action as a troop leader in the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

on 27 July 1941. Samulin's uncle,

Sten Suvio Sten "Stepa" Suvio (born ''Schuschin'', 25 November 1911 – 19 October 1988) was a Finnish boxer who won the welterweight contest at the 1936 Summer Olympics. He then turned professional and by 1949 accumulated a record of 34 wins (15 knockou ...

, was an Olympic boxer. In 1954, Samulin was chosen as a mannequin queen. Samulin was the director of her own dance school and worked as a filming secretary at Suomen Filmiteollisuus. In the 1960s Samulin founded a fashion dance school called ''Rytmikkäät mannekiinit'', (''rhythmical mannequins''). From 1989 to 1996, Samulin was a member of the city council of

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, representing the Centre Party. From 1997, she was a member of the

City Council of Helsinki The City Council of Helsinki ( , ) is the main decision-making organ in the local politics of Helsinki, Finland. The City Council deals with issues such as city planning, schools, health care, and public transport. The 85-seat Council's members ...

, representing the

National Coalition Party The National Coalition Party (NCP; , Kok; , Saml) is a liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in Finland, political party in Finland. It is the current governing political party of Finland. Founded in 1918, the ...

. Since 2001, she was a deputy member of the city council of Helsinki. She was a member of the Helsinki Week Foundation and of its environmental board, as well as a deputy member of the Helsinki Theatre Foundation. In 2001, a film of Samulin's life called '' Tango Kabaree'' was made, with Samulin playing herself. She also played herself in the film ''

Uuno Turhapuro – This Is My Life ''Uuno Turhapuro – This Is My Life'' is a 2004 Finnish comedy film, made as a tribute to Spede Pasanen. It is the twentieth and last installment in the Uuno Turhapuro film series. Plot Uuno disguises as an old man and infiltrates a nursi ...

'' and on one episode of the TV

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Fakta homma Coop amba, formerly FDB, is a cooperative based in Denmark. The coop has 2 million members and three subsidiaries. The Coop Danmark subsidiary operates the retail store chains of Kvickly, Brugsen, SuperBrugsen, Dagli'Brugsen and 365discount as wel ...

''. Samulin had a Karelian-style house called "Hyrsylän mutka" in the village of Hyrsylä,

Nummi New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) was an American automobile manufacturing company in Fremont, California, jointly owned by General Motors and Toyota, that opened in 1984 and closed in April 2010. The plant is located in the East Ind ...

Lohja Lohja (; ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Lohja is situated in the western part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Lohja is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, munici ...

, which is a local sight. The house was named after the village of Hyrsylä in the

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia, or simply Karelia or Karjala (; ) is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the Northwest Russia, northwest of the country. The republic is a part of the Northwestern Federal District, and covers an area of ...

, which was ceded to Russia after the Continuation War.

Personal life and death

Samulin had a daughter, Pirjo (1947–2018) and a son, Jari Samulin (born 1955) from her marriage to Helge Samulin, which ended in a separation in 1963. Aira Samulin had a short relationship with designer

Timo Sarpaneva Timo Tapani Sarpaneva (31 October 1926 – 6 October 2006) was an influential Finnish designer, sculptor, and educator best known in the art world for innovative work in glass, which often merged attributes of display Work of art, art objects wi ...

and also a relationship with sports commentator

Paavo Noponen Paavo is an Estonian and Finnish masculine given name, cognate to "Paul". The Finnish patronymic surname Paavolainen is derived from it. It may refer to: *Paavo Aaltonen (1919–1962), Finnish gymnast and a three-time Olympic champion * Paavo ...

from 1965 to 1972. Samulin was married to Ekku Peltomäki from 1973 to 2004. Aira Samulin died from a brain haemorrhage in Helsinki, on 23 October 2023, at the age of 96.Tähtivaara, Sarianne
Aira Samulin on kuollut
''

Ilta-Sanomat is one of Finland's two prominent tabloid-size evening newspapers and the largest paper in the country. Its counterpart and biggest rival is '' Iltalehti''. According to the National Media Research done in 2019, ''Ilta-Sanomat'' is also the bi ...

'' 23 October 2023. Accessed on 23 October 2023.

Awards and recognition

Samulin was awarded the

Order of the Lion of Finland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

knight award, the Mental Health Award of Mieli ry for her artwork ''Auringonpimennys'' ("

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

") about family violence and mental health disturbances and an Entertainment work award. She was especially active in youth activities. In 2011

the Regional Organisation of Enterprises in Helsinki The Regional Organisation of Enterprises in Helsinki was founded in 1939 and is an organisation of more than 6300 business owners in Helsinki, Finland. It is one of the 21 regional organisations of the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, which has ...

awarded its first life's work award to Samulin. In 2017 the Finnish central

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

awarded Samulin for her life's work in the fashion industry. In 2019 Reserviratsastajat ry awarded Samulin a golden rider's medal for her work for the riding tradition and defense of the country.Aira Samulin liikuttui harvinaisesta kunnianosoituksesta - sama myönnetty presidentti Niinistölle: "Tuntuu hienolta"
''

Iltalehti ''Iltalehti'' (literally "Evening newspaper") is a tabloid newspaper published in Helsinki, Finland. History and profile ''Iltalehti'' was established in 1980 as the afternoon edition of the newspaper '' Uusi Suomi''. The Helsinki-based Alma ...

''. Accessed on 10 July 2019.

Bibliography

*''Soturi ja sunnuntailapsi''. Edited by Sirkka-Liisa Lähteenoja. Helsinki: WSOY, 1987. . *''Auringonpimennys''. Edited by Sirkka-Liisa Lähteenoja. Helsinki: WSOY, 1989. . 2nd edition 1999, common book ''Soturi ja sunnuntailapsi; Auringonpimennys''. Helsinki: WSOY, 2007. . *''Uskomaton Aira Samulin''. Edited by Sauli Miettinen. Helsinki: WSOY, 2016. .

References

External links

Official site

Aira Samulin
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

* Forsman, Carita
82 faktaa Aira Samulinista
Kaleva 23 April 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Samulin, Aira 1927 births 2023 deaths Finnish female dancers Finnish dancers Centre Party (Finland) politicians National Coalition Party politicians People from Pitkyarantsky District