Urpo Juhani Lahtinen 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 ...

magazine publisher. He was born on 22 April 1931 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 died on 15 October 1994 in

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 ...

. Urpo Lahtinen started his journalistic career in 1952 writing for the Social Democratic paper ''Eteenpäin'' in

Kotka Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish. ...

, continuing in ''

Kansan Lehti ''Kansan Lehti'' (Finnish: ''People’s Newspaper'') was a social democratic newspaper published in Tampere from 1898 until 1991. The first issue of the paper appeared in December 1898. In the early period it was a handwritten publication and had ...

'' of

. In 1957 he started a free tabloid ''

Tamperelainen ''Tamperelainen'' (literally translated "Tamperean", meaning person who live in Tampere) is Finland's oldest city newspaper for the free distribution, published in Tampere, Kangasala, Nokia, Lempäälä, Pirkkala and Ylöjärvi. History The fir ...

'' (delivered to every household in Tampere), which was published by Lahtinen's own company called Lehtimiehet. Urpo Lahtinen's best-known publication was ''

Hymy ''Hymy'' (Finnish: "Smile") is a monthly celebrity magazine published in Helsinki, Finland. It has been in circulation since 1959. History and profile ''Hymy'' was launched in 1959 by publisher Urpo Lahtinen and named after his wife Hymy Lahtine ...

'' ("The Smile") magazine, which was launched in 1959 and was named after his wife Hymy Lahtinen, specializing in "human interest" type of journalism. In the 1960s and 1970s ''Hymy'' became a success with its sensationalist and

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

stories containing much celebrity sex and gossip, often verging on the

invasion of privacy The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 150 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. On 10 December 194 ...

. The most famous writer for ''Hymy'' was

Veikko Ennala Veikko Ennala (9 October 1922 – 29 August 1991) was a Finnish journalist. His best-known work was for the magazine ''Hymy'', published by Urpo Lahtinen. The journalist character in the Risto Jarva Risto Antero Jarva (15 July 1934 – 16 Decemb ...

, and probably one of the most infamous ''Hymy'' stories was about the author

Timo K. Mukka Timo Kustaa Mukka (17 December 1944 – 27 March 1973) was a Finnish author who wrote about the lives of people in Lapland (Finland), Lapland. Early life Timo Mukka was born in Bollnäs in Sweden where his family had been evacuated to during the ...

, which many thought was one of the main causes to the author's early demise soon afterwards. Lahtinen invested his huge profits in art, and in constructing his luxurious Villa Urpo in Siivikkala. The success also had its negative side on Urpo Lahtinen who became an alcoholic. Lahtinen's company Lehtimiehet was finally sold to Yhtyneet Kuvalehdet for hundreds of millions of Finnish Marks. When Urpo Lahtinen died in 1994 at the age of 63, a court case over his inheritance started between his son Jeppe Lahtinen, his ex-wife Hymy Lahtinen and his widow Maija-Liisa Lahtinen, continuing to this day.

External links

''Hymy'' magazine

''Tamperelainen''
1931 births 1994 deaths Businesspeople from Helsinki Finnish publishers (people) 20th-century Finnish journalists Finnish magazine founders {{Finland-journalist-stub