Sakari Severi Tuomioja (29 August 1911
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
– 9 September 1964
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 ...
) was a Finnish politician and diplomat who served as
Prime Minister of Finland
The prime minister of Finland ( fi, Suomen pääministeri; ) is the leader of the Finnish Government. The prime minister and their cabinet exercise executive authority in the state. The prime minister is formally Finnish order of precedence, r ...
between 1953–1954 and as
Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
between 1951–1952 and as the
Governor of the Bank of Finland between 1945–1955. He was also Finland's ambassador in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Stockholm.
Tuomioja was the first Finn in high-level
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
missions. In particular, he is remembered for acting as a mediator in the
Cyprus crisis of 1963–64
Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the ...
and his abrupt death in the performance of his duties. Tuomioja was also the first Finnish invited to the
Bilderberg Group
The Bilderberg meeting (also known as the Bilderberg Group) is an annual off-the-record conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally to prevent another world war, is now defi ...
meetings.
Life
Sakari Tuomioja's spouse was Vappu Tuomioja (née ''Wuolijoki''), and they had two children, daughter Tuuli and son
Erkki
Erkki is a Finnish and Estonian given name (derived from Erik). Notable people with the name include:
* Erkki Aadli (born 1974), Estonian orienteer
* Erkki Aaltonen (1910–1990), Finnish composer
* Erkki Ala-Könni (1911– 1996), Finnish ...
who has followed his father career in politics as Foreign Minister.
The parents of Sakari Tuomioja were
Walto Wihtori Tuomioja and Laina Sofia Tuomioja (née. ''Boman''). Walto Wihtori Tuomioja was Leader of the
National Progressive Party and
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
, and
Eljas Erkko
Juho Eljas Erkko (1 June 1895 in Helsinki – 20 February 1965 in Helsinki) was a Finnish politician and journalist. He was a foreign minister and negotiated with the Soviet Union before the Winter War started. Erkko's father was politician an ...
's predecessor as Editor-in-Chief in ''
Helsingin Sanomat'' newspaper.
Tuomioja undergraduate in 1929 and graduated as a Bachelor of Law in 1937. He received the rank of Master of Law in 1940. Tuomioja graduated as lawyer in 1949. Tuomioja worked as secretary of the Finance Committee in the 1930s and secretary of state auditors.
He started his duties as Secretary of State of the Ministry of Finance in 1940.
Tuomioja was released from conscription for reasons of health. Tuomioja was appointedas
Governor of the Bank of Finland, in 1945 after
Risto Ryti
Risto Heikki Ryti (; 3 February 1889 – 25 October 1956) served as the fifth president of Finland from 1940 to 1944. Ryti started his career as a politician in the field of economics and as a political background figure during the interwar perio ...
had resigned because of his warguild sentencing.
Career
Tuomioja served as
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
in the
Paasikivi II and
Paasikivi III Government's between 1944-1945 representing the Progressive Party.
Between 1950 and 1951, he was
Minister of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce.
Notable examples are:
List
*Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...
and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the
Kekkonen I Government. Between 1951 and 1952, he was
Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
in the
Kekkonen III Government. Tuomioja was appointed on 11 April 1950 to head the Finnish delegation in trade negotiations with the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. A five-year trade agreement was agreed and signed on 13 June.
As Finland fought for economic difficulties at the beginning of the 1950s, the export industry had to work to improve its position. Talks on the cost crisis brought Tuomioja together with
Teuvo Aura to devise a hard-to-find cost reduction program. Tuomioja did see
devaluation
In macroeconomics and modern monetary policy, a devaluation is an official lowering of the value of a country's currency within a fixed exchange-rate system, in which a monetary authority formally sets a lower exchange rate of the national curre ...
as solution. Urho Kekkonen, who served as Prime Minister, was suspicious of the program but started to drive it.
Eventually, Kekkonen's Cabinet fell when the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
opposed the implementation of the program, after which a minority government chaired by the
Agrarian Party was formed with Kekkonen as Prime Minister.
When the program of Tuomioja and Aura developed from the knockout of Social Democrats and the Labour Union began, the employers also saw it as unrealistic. Kekkonen asked Tuomioja to prepare a new economic program for the government, which would allow for a sufficient majority of votes.
However, in the end, the situation ended up with the formation of a government headed by Tuomioja, the resignation of Kekkonen and the organization of new elections. The case led to a breach between Tuomioja and Kekkonen's previously very close and long-term relationship.
After serving as Prime Minister from 1953–1954, Tuomioja was the presidential candidate of the
Liberal League and National Coalition Party in the
1956 presidential elections, where he had the third highest number of votes in the first round, receiving 57.
Diplomatic career
Tuomioja resigned from the duties of the Governor of the Bank of Finland in 1955, after being elected as Finland's Ambassador to London. He was in London until 1957 and later served as Ambassador of Finland to Stockholm in 1961–1964.
Tuomioja was the first Finnish person to be appointed to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
. He served as Secretary General of the
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE or UNECE) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to promote economic cooperation and i ...
in 1957–1960 and chaired the Laos Economic Commission in 1959 and 1961.
Tuomioja did not apply for a further extension after the first three years in the European Economic Commission, and finally returned to Finland where he was thought to be planning to become a candidate for the
1962 presidential election.
The President canditateship of Tuomioja against President Kekkonen was not attracted and he was also absent from the formation of the Honka Union against Kekkonen.
When returning to Finland, Tuomioja started work as a negotiating officer for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 1 November 1960. He was appointed to the
Ambassador to Stockholm next spring as of 1 July 1961.
UN Secretary General
U Thant
Thant (; ; January 22, 1909 – November 25, 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian to hold the position. He held t ...
invited Tuomioja to be a mediator during the Cyprus crisis in April 1964. Tuomioja suffered a brain hemorrhage on August 16, 1964 when he was performing his mediator's duties in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
. He was flown on a special airplane from
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
to Finland on September 3. Tuomioja died at the Kivelä Hospital in Helsinki at the presence of his family on Wednesday, September 9, 1964.
The
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
paid respects to Tuomioja with a minute of silence. Secretary-General
U Thant
Thant (; ; January 22, 1909 – November 25, 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian to hold the position. He held t ...
said in his memo that Tuomioja served meritoriously not only as a patriot but also as a very skilful UN mediator.
He was succeeded by
Galo Plaza
Galo Lincoln Plaza Lasso de la Vega (17 February 1906 – 28 January 1987) was an Ecuadorian statesman who served as President of Ecuador from 1948 to 1952 and Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1968 to 1975. He is the ...
as mediator in the Cyprus dispute.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuomioja, Sakari
1911 births
1964 deaths
Politicians from Tampere
People from Häme Province (Grand Duchy of Finland)
National Progressive Party (Finland) politicians
Liberal League (Finland) politicians
Prime Ministers of Finland
Ministers of Finance of Finland
Ministers of Trade and Industry of Finland
Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Governors of the Bank of Finland
Ambassadors of Finland to Sweden
Ambassadors of Finland to the United Kingdom
20th-century Finnish lawyers
Finnish officials of the United Nations