Hilda Maria Käkikoski (31 January 1864 – 14 November 1912) was a Finnish politician, writer and schoolteacher. She was one of the first nineteen women elected to

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

in 1907.

Life and career

Käkikoski was born Hilda Maria Sjöström in Lapinjärvi in 1864. She was described as a tomboyish child growing up in the countryside. She moved to

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

by herself at the age of 14 to attend a girls' high school with a scholarship. There, she cut her hair short and changed her Swedish surname to Käkikoski, the Finnish surname of her neighbours. After finishing school, she worked as a home tutor until 1888 when she enrolled in university; she completed a PhD in Finnish and Nordic history in 1895. She went on to become a teacher at a Helsinki school, teaching classes in history and the

Finnish language Finnish ( endonym: or ) is a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland (the other being Swedis ...

from 1891 until 1902. Her students found her fascinating due to her unconventional habits and interests, such as being a vegetarian, gymnast, cyclist, wearing masculine clothing and having an assertive demeanor. As Käkikoski developed an interest in

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

, she became an active member of the Finnish Women's Association, and wrote numerous articles for the association's magazine. She was elected its vice president in 1895 and held the position until 1904. In 1907, she ran for election with the conservative

Finnish Party The Finnish Party ( fi, Suomalainen Puolue) was a Fennoman conservative political party in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland and independent Finland. Born out of Finland's language strife in the 1860s, the party sought to improve the positio ...

to the newly established

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

; the 1907 election marked the first that women were able to vote and be voted in. Käkikoski won the vote in her district,

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; sv, Nyland, ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, ...

, and became one of the first 19 women elected to parliament. She did not stand for re-election in 1910 due to health problems. Käkikoski's literary work included children's songs, poetry and short stories. In 1902, she began writing a four-volume account of Finnish history. She continued working on the project until her death in 1912, but the work was never completed.

Personal life

Käkikoski was a lesbian. One of her early relationships was with schoolteacher and activist Fanny Pajula, with whom she lived for six years until 1895. Later in life, Käkikoski was romantically involved with her married friend Hildi Ennola, her American friend Frances Weiss, deaconess Hanna Masalin, and political activist Helmi Kivalo; Käkikoski maintained involvement in all of these relationships until her death in 1912. Käkikoski is buried alongside Ennola at

Karjalohja Karjalohja (; sv, label= Swedish, Karislojo) is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. Before merging into Lohja, the municipality had a population of (31 December ...

, Finland. A statue honouring her can be found in Porlammi.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kakikoski, Hilda 1864 births 1912 deaths People from Lapinjärvi People from Uusimaa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish Lutherans Finnish Party politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (1907–08) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1908–09) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1909–10) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1910–11) Finnish LGBT politicians Finnish writers Writers from Uusimaa Finnish suffragists Finnish women's rights activists Lesbian writers University of Helsinki alumni 20th-century Finnish women writers 20th-century Finnish writers Finnish schoolteachers Women members of the Parliament of Finland LGBT legislators LGBT conservatism Lesbian politicians 19th-century Lutherans 20th-century Finnish women politicians