Taimi Tellervo Koivisto ( Kankaanranta; born 2 January 1929), is 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 A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and the former First Lady of Finland from 1982 to 1994. Koivisto is the widow of the 9th

President of Finland The president of the Republic of Finland ( fi, Suomen tasavallan presidentti; sv, Republiken Finlands president) is the head of state of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the Finnish Government and the p ...

Mauno Koivisto Mauno Henrik Koivisto (; 25 November 1923 – 12 May 2017) was a Finnish politician who served as the ninth president of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as the country's prime minister twice, from 1968 to 1970 and again from 1979 to 19 ...

and a former member 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 ...

, representing the

Social Democratic Party of Finland The Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP, fi, Suomen sosialidemokraattinen puolue ; sv, Finlands socialdemokratiska parti), shortened to the Social Democrats ( fi, link=no, Sosiaalidemokraatit; sv, link=no, Socialdemokrater) and commonly kno ...

Life

Koivisto was born to a farmer's family in the Western Finnish municipality

Punkalaidun Punkalaidun ( sv, Punkalaidun, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The popul ...

, in the

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish, ) is a region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The capital city of the region is ...

region. After finishing the primary school, Koivisto went to a high school in

Huittinen Huittinen ( sv, Vittis) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Satakunta region, southeast of Pori and southwest of Tampere. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density ...

, where she graduated in 1949. Koivisto entered the

Turku School of Economics Turku School of Economics (Finnish ''Turun kauppakorkeakoulu'') is a unit of the University of Turku located in Turku, Finland. It was established as an independent higher education business school in 1950, until it was acquired by the state in 19 ...

, and met her future husband in

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

in December 1950. She was married to Mauno Koivisto on 22 June 1952. In 1953, Koivisto graduated from the Turku School of Economics and worked as a teacher since 1954. In 1957, she became a housewife, when her daughter Assi was born. Assi was later voted into the electoral college during the 1982 presidential election. In the late 1960s and the early 1970s Koivisto was active in the feminist organization ''Yhdistys 9'', and worked as a columnist for the news magazine ''

Suomen Kuvalehti ''Suomen Kuvalehti'' (lit. "Finland's picture magazine", or "The Finnish picture magazine") is a weekly Finnish language family and news magazine published in Helsinki, Finland. History and profile ''Suomen Kuvalehti'' was founded in 1873 and pu ...

'' 1968–1972. She became a member of the Finnish parliament in the 1972

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

, but withdrew from parliament after one season and ran for the

City Council of Helsinki The City Council of Helsinki (, ) is the main decision-making organ in the local politics of Helsinki, Finland. The City Council deals with issues such as city planning, schools, health care, and public transport. The 85-seat Council's members a ...

in 1976. During her husband's presidential term, Koivisto was more focused on social issues and charity work than on her ceremonial position of the First Lady. In her 1999 autobiography Koivisto wrote openly of her depression which was launched at the age of 70 by her childhood memories of

school bullying School bullying, like bullying outside the school context, refers to one or more perpetrators who have greater physical strength or more social power than their victim repeatedly by acting aggressively toward their victim. Bullying can be verb ...

. On her 90th birthday, Koivisto told about the mistreatment she had experienced during her school years. She was abused by the local priest who was her religion teacher. Koivisto was spanked on her bare buttocks, and the priest made questions of her periods. Koivisto described his behaviour as "sadistic". Inspired by the

Me Too movement #MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...

, Koivisto also told about the sexual harassment she had experienced in the Finnish parliament. On 25 December 2020, Koivisto was hospitalized after falling at her home which resulted in her breaking her hip.

Honours

National honour

* Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

Foreign honours

* Member 1st Class of the

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana ( et, Maarjamaa Risti teenetemärk, sometimes translated as the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of ...

* Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav * Commander Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

Literal works

*''Elämän siivellä: Päiväkirjan lehtiä'', Helsinki; Kirjayhtymä, 1970. *''Päiväkirjan uudet sivut'', Helsinki; Otava, 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koivisto, Tellervo 1929 births Living people People from Punkalaidun Social Democratic Party of Finland politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (1972–75) First Ladies and Gentlemen of Finland Finnish feminists