Arvo Aulis Aalto (13 July 1932 – 28 April 2025) was a Finnish politician who headed the

Communist Party of Finland The Communist Party of Finland (, SKP; ) was a communist political party in Finland. The SKP was a section of Comintern and illegal in Finland until 1944. The SKP was banned by the state from its founding and did not participate in any elec ...

between 1984 and 1988. He also served as the Minister of Employment in the Finnish government from 1977 to 1981.

Early life and education

Aalto was born in

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

on 13 July 1932. He graduated from Sirola Institute in 1956 and also, received education at Moscow Party School in the period 1961–1962.

Career

Aalto was a

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

. He joined the Communist Party in 1951. He was its secretary in Lapland in 1956 and part of the progressive group in the party. He was elected as the general secretary of the party under party chairman Aarne Saarinen in 1969 replacing Ville Pessi in the post. Pessi had resigned from the post due to internal conflicts in the party. Aalto served as the general secretary until 1984 with some interruptions. During his term the leadership of the Communist Party was progressive and revised the manifesto of the party. Aalto served as the Minister of Employment in the Finnish Government from 1977 to 1981. He was replaced by

Jouko Kajanoja Jouko Kajanoja (born 23 December 1942) is a Finnish economist and politician who served as minister of labour between 1981 and 1982. He was a member of the Communist Party which he headed from 1982 to 1984. Biography Kajanoja was born in Tamme ...

in the post. In June 1984, Aalto was elected as the chairman of the Communist Party obtaining 183 votes against 163 votes in favor of the former chairman Jouko Kajanoja. During his tenure Aalto visited China in January 1987 becoming the highest ranking Finnish communist to visit China in more than 20 years. Aalto headed the party until May 1988 when he and the politburo resigned due to economic crisis experienced by the party.

Personal life and death

Aalto had two daughters, Pirjo and Sirpa. While serving as the chairman of the Communist Party he was not so close to the

Soviet Communist Party The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

. He did not support the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

membership of Finland. Aalto died on 28 April 2025, at the age of 92.Entinen ministeri Arvo Aalto on kuollut 92-vuotiaana

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aalto, Arvo 1932 births 2025 deaths Communist Party of Finland politicians Ministers of labour of Finland People from Rovaniemi Leaders of political parties in Finland Finnish trade unionists