Mauno Henrik Koivisto (, 25 November 1923 – 12 May 2017) was a Finnish politician who served as the ninth

president of Finland The president of the Republic of Finland (; ) is the head of state of Finland. The incumbent president is Alexander Stubb, since 1 March 2024. He was elected president for the first time in 2024 Finnish presidential election, 2024. The presi ...

from 1982 to 1994. He also served as the country's

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

twice, from 1968 to 1970 and again from 1979 to 1982. He was also the first member of the Social Democratic Party to be elected as President of Finland.

Early life

Koivisto 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 ...

as the second son of Juho Koivisto, a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

at Crichton-Vulcan

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

, and Hymni Sofia Eskola, who died when he was 10. After attending primary school, Koivisto worked a number of jobs, and at the beginning 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 ...

in 1939 joined a field firefighting unit at the age of 16. 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 ...

, Koivisto served in the Infantry Detachment Törni led by Lauri Törni, which was a

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

detachment operating behind enemy lines. This detachment was only open to selected volunteers. During the war, he received the Order of the Cross of Liberty (2nd class) and was promoted to the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

. While reflecting on his wartime experiences later in life, he said ''"When you have taken part in a game in which your own life is at stake, all other games are small after that".''''Mauno Koivisto'', in The National Biography of Finland, English translation.
/ref> After the war, he earned a living as a carpenter and became active in

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

, joining the Social Democratic Party. During his early years, Koivisto was also influenced by

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

and

anarcho-syndicalism Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchism, anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade uni ...

. In 1948, he found work at the port of Turku. In December 1948, he was appointed the manager of the Harbour Labour Office of Turku, a post he held until 1951. In 1949, communist-controlled

trade union 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 ...

s attempted to topple Karl-August Fagerholm's social democratic minority government, and the Social Democratic leadership of the Finnish Confederation of Trade Unions (SAK) declared the port of Hanko an "open site", urging port workers who supported legality to go there. Koivisto went to Hanko to take charge of the harbour-master's office and recruit workers to break the strike, the government having banned strike action. The Communist newspapers branded Koivisto as their number one enemy due to his status as a major figure in the struggle for control of the trade unions.

Career

In addition to his political engagements and ongoing career, Koivisto continued with his education, passing his intermediate examination in 1947 and his university entrance examination in 1949. In 1951, he became a primary school teacher. On 22 June 1952, he married Tellervo Kankaanranta. Together they had a daughter, Assi Koivisto, who was later voted to the electoral college during the 1982 presidential election. Koivisto graduated from the University of Turku with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree and a licentiate in 1953, and had plans to become a sociologist. Three years later he completed his doctoral thesis, which examined social relations in the Turku dockyards. Koivisto also served as Vocational Counselor for the City of Turku, and as a member of the Turku City Council. Mauno-Koivisto-1957b

In 1957, he started working for the Helsinki Workers' Savings Bank and served as its general manager from 1959 to 1968. In 1968, he was appointed as the chairman of the board at the Bank of Finland, a position he held until 1982. During the 1960s, he witnessed a number of internal schisms within the Social Democratic Party, and made efforts to improve the party's relationships with both the communists and with President

Urho Kekkonen Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as Prime Minister ...

Political career

The 1966 parliamentary election's Social Democratic victory saw the formation of a government under Prime Minister Rafael Paasio, with Koivisto, the party's expert on economic policy, assuming the role of the Minister of Finance. By the beginning of 1968, many SDP members had become disillusioned with Paasio's leadership style, and Koivisto emerged as the chief candidate to succeed Paasio as prime minister. Koivisto became the prime minister of his first government, the Koivisto I Cabinet, on 22 March 1968. He served as prime minister for two years until the 1970 parliamentary election, which saw the other parties in the coalition government— Centre, SKDL, SPP, and TPSL—suffer heavy losses, bringing about Koivisto's resignation. In the 1970s, President Kekkonen started to regard Koivisto as a potential rival. To counter this, he threw his weight behind Koivisto's Social Democratic colleague, Kalevi Sorsa. For most of the decade, Koivisto concentrated on his work as the chairman of the Bank of Finland. The 1979 election saw him return as prime minister, forming a coalition government between the SDP, Centre, SPP, and SKDL. By this point there was increasing dissatisfaction with the aging President Kekkonen, whose failing health was becoming difficult to conceal, and also a perceived lack of change. As prime minister and chairman of the Bank of Finland who enjoyed high ratings in opinion polls, Koivisto began to be seen as a likely future candidate for the presidency. In early 1981, President Kekkonen began to regret Koivisto's appointment as prime minister and started to offer support to those who wanted to get rid of him. In the spring of 1981, members of Centre, which was serving as part of the government coalition, launched a behind-the-scenes attempt to bring down the government through a parliamentary

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

, so that Koivisto would not be able to conduct a presidential election campaign from the position of Prime Minister. At the critical moment Koivisto managed to gain the support of the SKDL. He was thus able to call Kekkonen's bluff by refusing to tender his resignation, reminding Kekkonen that the prime minister and Cabinet were responsible to Parliament, not the president. This would have been unthinkable for most of Kekkonen's quarter-century in office, but by then Kekkonen no longer had the energy to topple the government. Finnish historians, political scientists, and journalists still debate whether Kekkonen really wanted to dismiss Koivisto or whether Kekkonen simply wanted to speed up Koivisto's slow and ponderous decision-making. Some question whether this government crisis was just a part of the ruthless "presidential game" that top politicians such as Koivisto and Social Democratic chairman Sorsa were playing with one another. By October 1981, it became apparent that Kekkonen was too ill to carry out his duties, and he announced he would not run again. He resigned soon afterward, making Koivisto acting president. Koivisto was able to launch his presidential election campaign from the position. During the campaign, Koivisto was questioned particularly thoroughly on two issues: the nature of his socialism and his relations to 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 ...

. Describing the nature of his socialism, he referred to

Eduard Bernstein Eduard Bernstein (; 6 January 1850 – 18 December 1932) was a German Marxist theorist and politician. A prominent member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), he has been both condemned and praised as a "Revisionism (Marxism), revisi ...

, a revisionist social democrat, saying: "The important thing is the movement, not the goal." To a journalist's question, intended to be a difficult one, on the issue of relations with the Soviet Union, Koivisto replied that they were nothing to boast about; this answer increased his popularity. Koivisto did not want to be elected with the support of the Soviet Union. Koivisto-1983

The voter turnout in the

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...

was nearly 90%. Koivisto's wife and daughter were among the members of 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 ...

. Koivisto won 167 of the 301 votes of the electoral college in the first round; his closest competitor, NCP candidate Harri Holkeri, received 58. As a result, Koivisto became Finland's first socialist president. His victory completed a long process of integrating the Social Democrats into Finland's political life, dating back to the Civil War.

Presidency (1982–1994)

As president, Koivisto kept a low profile and used less authoritarian leadership tactics than Kekkonen had employed, refraining from using some of his presidential powers and initiating a new era of parliamentarianism in Finland. On the other hand, he had an occasionally difficult relationship with

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

s, which he famously called "

lemming A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also inclu ...

s". One practical problem that quite a few reporters had with Koivisto's statements was their deeply pondering and philosophical nature. Mauno Koivisto's presidency (1982–1994) marked a deliberate shift from the strong presidential dominance of his predecessor, Urho Kekkonen, towards a more parliament-centered governance. He consciously limited the exercise of presidential powers, fostering an environment where the Prime Minister and Parliament assumed greater responsibility in decision-making processes. Koivisto also supported constitutional reforms aimed at reducing presidential authority, thereby strengthening Finland's parliamentary system. This transition contributed to a more balanced distribution of power within the Finnish government, aligning with his commitment to democratic principles. Those statements were not often easy to interpret, unlike Kekkonen's blunt and sometimes harsh statements. As the leader of Finland's foreign policies he initially continued Kekkonen's line until the collapse of the Soviet Union. He also continued the established practice of returning Soviet defectors to the Soviet Union, a custom now prohibited as a human rights violation by the Finnish constitution. Koivisto created close contacts with

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

. He carried on private correspondence with Gorbachev and Bush. His ties to the other

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

and Nordic colleagues were very close and trustworthy. He spoke fluent Russian, Swedish, English, and German. In the critical moments during which the Soviet Union was collapsing, and the Baltic countries, particularly Estonia, were declaring themselves independent, Koivisto referred to the policy of neutrality and avoided publicly supporting the Baltic independence movement, but its members were allowed to work from Finland. Koivisto's Finland recognized the new Estonian government only after the major powers had done so. Koivisto did however covertly send money to Estonia to assist their independence movement. Koivisto made two bold unilateral diplomatic moves that significantly changed the Finnish political position. In 1990, after the

reunification of Germany German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and the integration of i ...

, Koivisto unilaterally renounced the terms of the Paris Peace Treaties which limited the strength and armament of the

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) (; ) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy, and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime, the Finnish Border Guard becomes part of the Finnish Defence For ...

. The rationale was that after Germany had been given its full rights as a sovereign state, Finland could not remain bound by the antiquated treaty. The renunciation caused no official protest from Soviet Union or Great Britain. The other major move was the renunciation of the Finno-Soviet Treaty () in 1991, concurrently with the fall of Soviet Union. The treaty, the military article of which had shaped Finnish foreign policy for decades, was substituted with a new treaty without military obligations in the next year. KoivistoandRegan

In 1990, partly motivated by nationalism, partly by the fear of the declining work force, Koivisto proposed that any Soviet citizen with either Finnish or Ingrian ancestry be enabled to immigrate to Finland as a returnee.Koivisto, "Two Terms I". In ''"What Where When - Citizen's Yearbook 1991"'' / ''"Mitä Missä Milloin - Kansalaisen vuosikirja 1991"''''"What Where When - Citizen's Yearbook 1992"'' / ''"Mitä Missä Milloin - Kansalaisen vuosikirja 1992"'' The proposal resulted in a modification of immigration laws to this end during the year. After the

collapsed, Koivisto was against returning Karelian old Finnish parts back to Finland. In the 1988 presidential election, Koivisto was re-elected with 189 out of 301 votes in the electoral college during the second round. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he supported more radical ideals like joining the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. In 1992, Koivisto initiated the process of Finnish accession to the European community. The final terms of the membership agreement were finalised on the day of Koivisto's departure from the presidency. He was succeeded by President

Martti Ahtisaari Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (, 23 June 1937 – 16 October 2023) was a Finnish politician, the tenth president of Finland, from 1994 to 2000, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a United Nations diplomat and mediation, mediator noted for his inte ...

, who was also a supporter of EU membership. Koivisto's popularity sharply declined during Finland's economic depression of the early 1990s, because many unemployed or otherwise impoverished citizens believed that he could have forced the centre-right government of Esko Aho to stimulate the economy and grant unemployed people temporary public sector jobs.Koivisto, "Two Terms I". In ''"What Where When - Citizen's Yearbook 1992, 1993, 1994"'' / ''Mitä Missä Milloin'' - Kansalaisen vuosikirja 1992, 1993, 1994"'' Koivisto's term ended in 1994. Henceforth he published his memoirs in four volumes and continued as a commentator on economics and both domestic and international politics.

Post-presidency

President Mauno Koivisto cortege in Helsinki 2017

Subsequent to his presidency, Koivisto occasionally continued to represent Finland officially abroad, most notably at the funerals of Queen Ingrid of Denmark in 2000,

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

in 2002 and

in 2004. In 2009, Koivisto declined to apologize to Estonia that his administration did not support the country's independence movement. On 3 March 2010, he was hospitalized for cardiac dysrhythmia but was released less than a week later.

Hobby

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

was Koivisto's long-standing hobby, the volleyball hobby began when he was in his twenties and continued until retirement.

Death

Koivisto's health deteriorated in December 2016 due to

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

and his wife Tellervo started as his

caregiver A caregiver, carer or support worker is a paid or unpaid person who helps an individual with activities of daily living. Caregivers who are members of a care recipient's family or social network, who may have specific professional training, are o ...

. In January 2017, Koivisto fell badly at his home and broke his hand, after which he moved to a nursing home. In May 2017, Koivisto was put in

end-of-life care End-of-life care is health care provided in the time leading up to a person's death. End-of-life care can be provided in the hours, days, or months before a person dies and encompasses care and support for a person's mental and emotional needs, phy ...

. Koivisto died on 12 May 2017, aged 93. His

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

was held on 25 May 2017. Koivisto is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki.

Bibliography

* ''Sosiaaliset suhteet Turun satamassa: sosiologinen tutkimus'', 1956.

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

. * ''Linjan vetoa'', 1968. * ''Väärää politiikkaa'', 1978. . * ''Tästä lähtien'', 1981. . * ''Linjaviitat: Ulkopoliittisia kannanottoja'', 1983. . * ''Politiikkaa ja politikointia 1978–81'', 1988. . * ''Maantiede ja historiallinen kokemus: Ulkopoliittisia kannanottoja'', 1992. . * ''Kaksi kautta'', 1994. . * ''Historian tekijät'', 1995. . * ''Liikkeen suunta'', 1997. . * ''Koulussa ja sodassa'', 1998. . * ''Venäjän idea'', 2001. . * ''Itsenäiseksi imperiumin kainalossa – mietteitä kansojen kohtaloista'', 2004. .

Honours

Awards and decorations

National orders

* : Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose * : Grand Cross of 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 ...

* : Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Liberty * : Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Lamb of the Orthodox Church of Finland

Foreign orders

* : Knight of the

Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim (; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the ...

(16 April 1982) * : Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (1983) * : Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...

(20 April 1983) * : Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

& wife: Grand Cross (20 October 1982) * : 1st Class Cross of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (20 November 2001) * :

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

* : Order of the Chrysanthemum * : Collar of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...

(22 April 1992) * : Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

(14 September 1993) * :

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* : National Order of Merit * :

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

* : Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau * , People's Republic: Order of the Merit of the People's Republic of Poland * ,

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

: Order of the White Eagle * : Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria * : Order of Stara Planina * : Order of Ojaswi Rajanya * : Order of al-Hussein bin Ali * , People's Republic: Order of Flag of the People's Republic of Hungary * ,

: Order of Merit of Hungary * :

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

* : Order of the Great Yugoslav Star (1986) * : Order of the White Lion (1987) * : Order of San Marino * : Star of People's Friendship * : Order of San Carlos

Honorary degrees

* : University of Helsinki 1990 * : University of Helsinki 1988 * : Charles University in Prague 1987 * : University of Tampere 1985 * : University of Toulouse 1983 * : Åbo Akademi 1978 * : University of Turku 1977

References

External links

Mauno Koivisto
in The Presidents of Finland {{DEFAULTSORT:Koivisto, Mauno 1923 births 2017 deaths Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery Politicians from Turku Finnish Lutherans Social Democratic Party of Finland politicians Presidents of Finland Prime ministers of Finland Deputy prime ministers of Finland Ministers of finance of Finland Governors of the Bank of Finland Finnish military personnel of World War II University of Turku alumni Deaths from dementia in Finland Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Grand Crosses of the Order of the Cross of Liberty Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 2nd Class Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Finnish bankers 20th-century Lutherans Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon