On October 14, 1930, at approximately 9:00 am EET, former and first

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 ...

, Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, and his wife, Ester Ståhlberg, were abducted near their home in

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 ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, by members of the

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

Lapua Movement. The plan was spearheaded by ex- White Guard general Kurt Martti Wallenius. The kidnappers threatened to execute both hostages if their demands were not met, but were ultimately hesitant to carry out the threat. The pair were taken by car to

Joensuu Joensuu (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Karelia. It is located in the eastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Joensuu is approximately , while the sub-region has a population ...

in Eastern Finland, where they were abruptly set free after the kidnappers failed to meet up with other accomplices. In December 1930, Wallenius and Eero Kuussaari were found guilty of the kidnapping and sentenced to 3 years of

penal servitude Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included inv ...

and dismissal from the army. The incident greatly eroded the already dwindling popular support for the Lapua Movement. The kidnapping was also considered decisive in the victory of

Pehr Evind Svinhufvud Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad (, 15 December 1861 – 29 February 1944) was the third president of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Serving as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Grand Duchy of Finland, which was at that time an autonomous s ...

against Ståhlberg in the 1931 presidential election. After the kidnapping, the Lapuans again threatened to assassinate Ståhlberg.

Reaction

The abduction was widely covered in foreign newspapers. In Sweden, the news caused a diplomatic incident when ''

Dagens Nyheter (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major nationa ...

'' wrote that "such news should come from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

or one of the ' Nigger republics' and not from a Western European state", to which the Mexican ambassador in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

protested vehemently.

References

1930 crimes in Finland Kidnapping in Finland Kidnapping in the 1930s Political history of Finland Political violence {{Finland-hist-stub Fascism in Finland Fascist terrorism Terrorist incidents in Finland