Kyllikki Pohjala (11 November 1894 – 22 September 1979) was a Finnish politician and nurse. She was a member of the

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

from 1933 to 1962 and served as the minister of social affairs from October to December 1963. Born in

Nakkila Nakkila () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Satakunta region, southeast of Pori. The Kokemäki River flows along the center of Nakkila. The municipality has a population of () an ...

, Pohjala was a nurse in the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

and

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

and studied nursing education at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in the 1920s. After she returned to Finland, she was elected to Parliament in 1933, representing Turku Province North as a member of 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 ...

. Pohjala worked on healthcare and welfare issues during her time in Parliament, but grew interested in foreign policy during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In the 1950s, she became a Finnish representative in the

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...

and the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

. In 1962, she was appointed second minister of social affairs by prime minister

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 ...

, and was promoted to minister of social affairs in October 1963. She drafted legislation that introduced nationwide health insurance in Finland. Pohjala retired in December 1963 when Karjalainen's government disbanded.

Education and nursing career

Pohjala was born on 11 November 1894 in

, Finland. She was the daughter of Topias Pohjala, a fisherman, and Josefina Brander. She graduated from secondary school in

Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

in 1914, and became a reporter for the regional newspaper. Pohjala then attended a nursing school run by

Sophie Mannerheim Baroness Eva Charlotta Lovisa Sofia (Sophie) Mannerheim (21 December 1863 – 9 January 1928) was a famous nurse known as a pioneer of modern nursing in Finland. She was a daughter of count Carl Robert Mannerheim and a sister of former Finnish P ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, graduating in 1917, and worked as a nurse in the

in 1918 and the

in 1918–1919. She received six decorations from Finland, Estonia, and Latvia for "heroism under fire". After the wars, she worked as a nurse in

Harjavalta Harjavalta () is a town and municipality in Finland. It's located in the Satakunta region, southeast of Pori. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Harjavalta is a centre for cop ...

in 1919 and 1920. In 1920, Pohjala, who did not speak any English at the time, moved to the United States to continue her nursing studies. She worked at

NYU Lutheran Medical Center New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...

and

Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) is the academic medical center of Columbia University and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The center's academic wing consists of Columbia's colleges and schools of Physician ...

for five years, learning English and earning money for her education. Pohjala studied

nursing education Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

, where she received the

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in 1927. After graduating, she returned to Finland and became the editor-in-chief of the nursing

trade magazine A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular tradesman, trade or industry. The collective term ...

''Sairaanhoitaja'', a position she held until 1963. She was also the president of the between 1935 and 1963.

Political career

Member of Parliament (1933–1962)

Pohjala's colleagues from her time as a military nurse in the 1910s encouraged her to run in the

1933 Finnish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Finland between 1 and 3 July 1933.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p606 The Social Democratic Party remained the largest party in Parliament with 78 of the 200 s ...

. She ran and won the election to represent the Turku Province North constituency (now

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish language, Finnish and Swedish language, Swedish, ; historically ''Satacundia'') is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland ...

), taking office on 1 September 1933. She was an unaffiliated candidate in the election but joined the

after she was elected. Pohjala was a member of Parliament for almost 30 years, serving continuously until 19 February 1962. As a member of Parliament, Pohjala frequently focused on healthcare and welfare issues, informed by her experiences as a nurse. Her first bill, which provided funding for the renovation of a state hospital in Pori, was passed by the legislature. She advocated for the expansion of hospitals, including the construction of a pediatrics department of the Helsinki general hospital. Pohjala also worked to improve the social status of nurses and expand municipal healthcare, frequently working on bipartisan legislation with representatives from left-wing parties, including

Miina Sillanpää Miina Sillanpää (originally Vilhelmiina Riktig, ) was a Finnish politician. She served as Deputy Minister of Social Affairs in 1926-1927. She was Finland's first female minister and a key figure in the workers' movement. In 2016, the Finnish g ...

and

Hilja Pärssinen Hilja Pärssinen (13 July 1876, in Halsua – 23 September 1935, in née ''Lindgren'') was a Finland, Finnish schoolteacher, poet, journalist and politician. Along with Elvira Willman, Elvira Wilman and Hilda Tihlä was the most popular female wri ...

of 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 Form ...

. She later remarked that as a woman legislator, she did not receive as much respect from the National Coalition Party compared to women representatives in other parties. Pohjala was strongly opposed to the signing of the

Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...

at the conclusion of the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1940. When she traveled to England after the war, German forces invaded Norway and she was unable to return to Finland. She received an invitation from United States President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

and traveled to the U.S. where she met with Finnish American groups and was eventually able to return to her country. During 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 ...

, Pohjala was a member of , an organization that provided aid to civilians. After the conclusion of

, Pohjala continued her involvement in foreign policy. She joined the Foreign Affairs Committee in 1945, and was the committee's vice chair from 1949 to 1957 and from 1961 to 1962. She joined the Finnish Group in the

, chairing the group's executive committee from 1959 to 1962, and was a member of the Finnish delegation to the

from 1957 to 1962.

Karjalainen cabinet (1962–1963)

Pohjala was appointed second minister of social affairs by prime minister

on 13 April 1962. She later wrote that the appointment came as a surprise because few women from the National Coalition Party had ever been appointed as minister. She was promoted to Minister of Social Affairs on 18 October 1963. During her time in the Ministry of Social Affairs, Pohjala introduced the Health Insurance Act, which provided medical insurance to all residents of Finland. When Karjalainen's term ended on 18 December 1963 due to the resignations of ministers who were sympathetic to the

Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, usually referred to by the acronym SAK (; ) is the largest trade union confederation in Finland. Its member organisations have a total of more than one million members, which makes up about one fif ...

, Pohjala retired from politics.

Later life and death

Pohjala published a memoir, ''Kuljin tietäni'' ("I Trod My Path"), in 1966. She died on 22 September 1979 in Helsinki, at the age of 84.