Carl Olof Tallgren (28 January 1927 – 16 June 2024) was a Finnish politician who served as the

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

between 1970 and 1971. He was one of the heads of the

Swedish People's Party of Finland The Swedish People's Party of Finland (SPP; , SFP; , RKP) is a Finnish political party founded in 1906. Its primary aim is to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finland. The party is currently a participant i ...

Early life and education

Tallgren was born in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

on 28 January 1927, and his parents were office manager and deputy consul Karl Nikolai Tallgren and Ella Alica Lindh. He graduated from the Swedish Classical High School in 1945. Then he attended the Turku Academy and in 1951 graduated with a bachelor's degree in politics. He also received a PhD.

Career

Following graduation Tallgren was employed as an ombudsman at the Åboland Municipal Association in 1952 and worked there for ten years until 1962. In 1957 he also became an operations manager in the

Åboland Åboland () is a sub-region in the archipelago of the Southwest Finland region in south-western Finland. Åboland and Turunmaa are also informal names of the region, but in this context Särkisalo () is normally included and in the Finnish nam ...

district for the

Finnish Red Cross The Finnish Red Cross (FRC, , ) is an independent member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which is one of the biggest and best-known international organisations in the world and in the field of humanitari ...

.  Next year he was appointed deputy to the Foreign Affairs Minister

Ralf Törngren Ralf Johan Gustaf Törngren (1 March 1899 – 16 May 1961) was a Finnish politician, born in Oulu. He was the party leader of the Swedish People's Party (1945–1955), a member of the Finnish parliament and the Prime Minister of Finland 5 May ...

. In 1961 Tallgren was elected to 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 P ...

for the Swedish People's Party of Finland representing Åboland when Törngren died and served at the Parliament until 1975.  Tallgren was appointed the minister of finance in

Ahti Karjalainen Ahti Kalle Samuli Karjalainen (10 February 1923 – 7 September 1990) was a Finland, Finnish economist and politician. He was a member of the Agrarian League (later known as Keskusta, Centre Party) and served two terms as Prime Minister of Finlan ...

's second cabinet on 15 July 1970, and his term lasted until 29 October 1971. He succeeded Kristian Gestrin in 1974 as chairman of the Swedish People's Party of Finland which he held until 1977 when Pär Stenbäck took over the post. Tallgren was also employed as a treasurer at the Turku Academy Foundation between 1964 and 1973. Following his retirement from politics he was named as managing director of the Art Society Association, and his term lasted until 1991. He served on the boards of different companies and foundations, including the Foundation for

Åbo Akademi University Åbo Akademi University ( , ) is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland (or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in Turku (Åbo is the Swedish name of the city) but has also activities in Vaasa. Å ...

(1982–1997), Oy Partek Ab,

Konstsamfundet Föreningen Konstsamfundet (lit. "The Art Foundation Association") is a Finnish association with the goal of supporting the culture of the Swedish-speaking minority of Finland. It was founded in 1940 by '' vuorineuvos'' Amos Anderson, a newspaper ...

, Oy Stockmann Ab, Oy City Forum Ab, and Hufvudstadsbladet Ab m.fl.

Personal life and death

Tallgren married the economist Gurli Vivica Öhman in 1950. He died on 16 June 2024, at the age of 97.Suru-uutinen kesken puoluekokouksen: RKP piti hiljaisen hetken

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tallgren, Carl Olof 1927 births 2024 deaths 20th-century Finnish businesspeople 21st-century Finnish businesspeople Finnish political scientists Members of the Parliament of Finland (1962–1966) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1966–1970) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1970–1972) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1972–1975) Ministers of finance of Finland People from Turku Swedish People's Party of Finland politicians Swedish-speaking Finns University of Helsinki alumni