Kalle Könkkölä Kalle Kustaa Topias Könkkölä (16 January 1950 – 11 September 2018) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

politician and human rights activist. He was one of the two first

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

members of the

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 ...

, from 1983 to 1987, even before the

Green League The Green League (VIHR, fi, Vihreä liitto , sv, Gröna förbundet), shortened to the Greens ( fi, Vihreät, sv, De Gröna), is a green political party in Finland. Ideologically, the Green League is positioned on the centre-left of the polit ...

became a political party. He was the first chairperson of the Green League and the first Finnish MP with a

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, dev ...

. Könkkölä was born in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, and was

physically disabled A physical disability is a limitation on a person's physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders, blindness, epilepsy ...

from birth. He was the executive director of the Threshold Association, a cross-disability organization which campaigns for the basic and human rights of persons with disabilities, including

accessibility Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

. He was married to architect Maija Könkkölä from 1976 until her death in 2012. Könkkölä died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on 11 September 2018, at the age of 68.

Publications

* ''Huoneekseni tuli maailma'', with Heini Saraste, 1996, WSOY * ''Vammaiset, Suomi, Maailma'', 1991

References

External links

Home page

Kynnys ry (Threshold association) homepage
1950 births 2018 deaths Politicians from Helsinki Green League politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (1983–87) Finnish politicians with disabilities Finnish disability rights activists Deaths from pneumonia in Finland {{Finland-politician-stub