Johan Wilhelm (Jukka) Rangell (25 October 1894 – 12 March 1982) was the

Prime Minister of Finland The prime minister of Finland (; ) is the leader of the Finnish Government. The prime minister and his or her cabinet exercise executive authority in the state. The prime minister is formally ranked third in the protocol after the president ...

from 1941 to 1943. Educated as a lawyer, he was a close acquaintance of President

Risto Ryti Risto Heikki Ryti (; 3 February 1889 – 25 October 1956) was a Finnish people, Finnish politician who served as the fifth president of Finland from 1940 to 1944. Ryti started his career as a politician in the field of economics and as a politica ...

before the war, and made his initial career as a banker in the

Bank of Finland The Bank of Finland (, ) is the national central bank for Finland within the Eurosystem. It was the Finnish central bank from 1865 to 1998, issuing the markka. It views itself as the fourth oldest surviving central bank in the world, after Swed ...

.Sakari Virkkunen, ''Myrskyajan presidentti Ryti'', Otava, Keuruu, 1985, pp. 68–70. He played a role in the efforts at a

1940 Summer Olympics The 1940 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XII Olympiad, was a planned international multi-sport event scheduled to have been held from 21 September to 6 October 1940, in Tokyo City, Japan, and later rescheduled for 20 July t ...

in Helsinki after the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC) retracted the original choice of Tokyo. After the resignation of President

Kyösti Kallio Kyösti Kallio (, 10 April 1873 – 19 December 1940) was a Finnish politician who served as the fourth president of Finland from 1937 to 1940. His presidency included leading the country through the Winter War; while he relinquished the post ...

during the

Interim Peace The Interim Peace (, ) was a short period in the history of Finland during the Second World War. The term is used for the time between the Winter War and the Continuation War, lasting a little over 15 months, from 13 March 1940 to 24 June 1941. ...

, Risto Ryti was elected by the

Electoral College An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

as the new president of Finland on December 19, 1940, and Rangell rose to the position of Prime Minister. In office, Rangell's expertise and influence dealt mainly with economic issues, while more important foreign policy power rested on Commander-in-Chief

Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military commander, aristocrat, and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War (1918), as Regent of Finland (1918–191 ...

, President Ryti and Foreign Minister Witting. Due to his connections to the IOC following the

Berlin Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

, Rangell's political orientation was seen as pro-German. Rangell's cabinet's belligerent actions 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 ...

enjoyed the support of the Parliament. He defended the occupation of East Karelia and the regaining of the areas ceded in the Peace of Moscow.Finland in the Second World War: Between Germany and Russia By Olli Vehviläinen, Gerard McAlester, pgs 85, 102, and 104
/ref> During

Reichsführer-SS (, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest Uniforms and insignia of the Schut ...

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

's state visit to Finland in August 1942, Rangell silenced Himmler's questions concerning the Jewish minority of Finland by famously stating: "''Wir haben keine Judenfrage''" ("We do not have a

Jewish question The Jewish question was a wide-ranging debate in 19th- and 20th-century Europe that pertained to the appropriate status and treatment of Jews. The debate, which was similar to other " national questions", dealt with the civil, legal, national, ...

"). He served as the governor of the

from 1943 to 1944. In the war-responsibility trials, Rangell was convicted for 6 years of prison in February 1946 for alleged

crimes against peace The crime of aggression was conceived by Soviet jurist Aron Trainin in the wake of the German invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. Pictured: Stalingrad in ruins, December 1942 A crime of aggression or crime against peace is the p ...

. He was pardoned in 1949. After his release, Rangell did not return to politics, but continued to work for the

Finnish Olympic Committee The Finnish Olympic Committee (; ) is the national Olympic committee in Finland for the Olympic Games movement. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams, and raises funds to send Finnish competitors to Olympic events organised by the I ...

and the IOC until 1967. He also belonged to the board of

Kansallis-Osake-Pankki Kansallis-Osake-Pankki (KOP) was a Finnish commercial bank operating from 1889 to 1995. It was created by the fennoman movement as a Finnish language alternative to the largely Swedish language bank, Suomen Yhdyspankki (''Swedish: Föreningsbank ...

bank.

Cabinets

* Rangell Cabinet

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rangell, Johan Wilhelm 1894 births 1982 deaths People from Hämeenlinna People from Häme Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) National Progressive Party (Finland) politicians Prime ministers of Finland Finnish bankers Governors of the Bank of Finland Finnish International Olympic Committee members Finnish people of World War II Finnish people convicted of the international crime of aggression Recipients of Finnish presidential pardons University of Helsinki alumni Heads of government who were later imprisoned World War II political leaders Prisoners and detainees of Finland