Signe Relander ( Österman; 19 August 1886 — 31 May 1962) was the wife of Finland's second president,

Lauri Kristian Relander Lauri Kristian Relander (, ; 31 May 1883 – 9 February 1942) was the second president of Finland (1925–1931). A prominent member of the Centre Party (Finland), Agrarian League, he served as a member of Parliament of Finland, Parliament, and ...

, serving as the First Lady of Finland from 1925 until 1931. The couple met while she was still at secondary school and he at university, and married in 1906; they lived in

Tikkurila Tikkurila (; sv, Dickursby) is a district and major region of the municipality of Vantaa, Finland. Located in the eastern half of the Helsinki conurbation, some north of the capital's downtown district, it is the administrative and commercial h ...

(then part of the Rural District of Helsinki, now

Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...

), and had two children. She considered her role as the First Lady to be purely ceremonial, and avoided commenting on or otherwise getting involved in politics. She was nevertheless known for her language skills and elegant appearance, and is thought to have been a positive influence on her husband's political career, both before and after his election as president. Her being natively Swedish-speaking may also have indirectly affected the language policies of her husband's party, the Agrarian League (now the Centre Party). After her husband's death at the relatively young age of 58, Signe Relander suffered financial hardship, until a modest pension was granted to her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Relander, Signe First Ladies and Gentlemen of Finland Swedish-speaking Finns People from Helsinki 1886 births 1962 deaths