Sakari Tuomioja

Sakari Tuomioja
32th Prime Minister of Finland
In office 17 November 1953 – 5 May 1954
President	Juho Kusti Paasikivi
Preceded by	Urho Kekkonen
Succeeded by	Ralf Törngren
Personal details
Born	29 August 1911 Tampere
Died	9 September 1964 (aged 53)
Political party	National Progressive Party

Sakari Severi Tuomioja (29 August 1911 — 9 September 1964) was a Finnish politician (National Progressive Party), diplomat, Prime Minister of Finland during the caretaker government which was formed in 1953.^[1] Tuomioja was also the Finnish ambassador to Sweden and to the UK and once the Minister of Foreign Affairs (1951–1952).

Sakari Tuomioja was born in Tampere, the son of Walto Tuomioja and Laina Sofia Tuomioja (née Boman). He married Vappu Illike Tuomioja (née Wuolijoki), daughter of Estonian-born writer Hella Wuolijoki. They had two children, Tuuli and Erkki (Foreign Minister of Finland in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s). During the Continuation War, Tuomioja joined the so-called Peace opposition (as one of the few of National Progressive Party members). After the war, his faction lost the power struggle within the National Progressive Party, and Tuomioja's supporters were invited to join the pro-communist umbrella organisation Finnish People's Democratic League, an offer which was rejected.^[2]

Later, Sakari Tuomioja was a UN agent at the Cyprus dispute in 1963. Before Cyprus, Tuomioja was United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's general secretary from 1957 to 1960. Tuomioja was the presidential candidate of his own party, the Liberal League and of the National Coalition Party at the 1956 elections. Tuomioja was the first Finn to be a member of the Bilderberg group. He died, aged 53, in Helsinki.

Career

• 1944–1945 – Finance minister in Juho Kusti Paasikivi's second government.
• 1945–1955 – Head of the Bank of Finland.
• 1953-1954 – Prime Minister of Finland during the caretaker government.
• 1955–1957 – Finland's ambassador to London.
• 1957–1960 – UN Europe's economy department's general secretary.
• 1960–1964 – Finland's ambassador to Stockholm.

References

1. "Ministerikortisto". Valtioneuvosto. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
2. Erkki Tuomioja, A delicate Shade of Pink.