Niilo Frans Wälläri (6 July 1897 – 25 August 1967) 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 ...

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

, syndicalist politician. Wälläri led the

Finnish Seamen's Union The Finnish Seafarers' Union (FSU, formerly known as Finnish Seamen's Union; fi, Suomen Merimies-Unioni, SMU) is a trade union representing maritime and inland waterway transport workers in Finland. The Helsinki Seamen's and Firemen's Union was ...

from 1938 until his death. In 1913 Wälläri left Finland to become seaman. In 1916, he settled in the United States and joined the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...

. Because of his political activities, Wälläri was deported back to Finland in 1920. Wälläri became active in the underground

Communist Party of Finland The Communist Party of Finland ( fi, Suomen Kommunistinen Puolue, SKP; sv, Finlands Kommunistiska Parti) was a communist political party in Finland. The SKP was a section of Comintern and illegal in Finland until 1944. The SKP was banned ...

(SKP) and the public

Socialist Workers' Party of Finland Socialist Workers' Party of Finland ( fi, Suomen Sosialistinen Työväenpuolue, SSTP) was a Finnish political party in the early 1920s. The SSTP consisted of radical leftists who split from the Social Democratic Party of Finland after the Finnish ...

(SSTP). Wälläri was chairman of SSTP in 1922–1923 and he was jailed at the

Tammisaari prison camp The Tammisaari camp was a concentration camp and prison in Dragsvik, Ekenäs in Finland. It was set for the Reds captured by the Whites in the 1918 Finnish Civil War. The concentration camp operated from May 1918 to 15 September 1918 when the majo ...

when the party was disbanded. In the late 1920s Wälläri became frustrated with communists. This eventually led to a split in 1929. Wälläri was one of the main organisers behind the short-lived Left Group of Finnish Workers. Wälläri joined the Social Democratic Party of Finland in 1935. Social Democratic Association of Transport Workers was his stronghold. The Soviet Union radioed anti-Wälläri propaganda during the Second World War. After the war Wälläri left SDP and joined the

Finnish People's Democratic League Finnish People's Democratic League ( fi, Suomen Kansan Demokraattinen Liitto, SKDL; sv, Demokratiska Förbundet för Finlands Folk, DFFF) was a Finnish political organisation with the aim of uniting those left of the Finnish Social Democratic P ...

and the Socialist Unity Party. As leader of the seamen's trade union, he constantly threatened to damage the government and economy with strikes in order to gain benefits for the seaman's trade union.

Sources

Wälläri, Niilo
in ''Biografiskt lexikon för Finland'' . 1897 births 1967 deaths People from Lieto People from Turku and Pori Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Communist Party of Finland politicians Socialist Workers Party of Finland politicians Left Group of Finnish Workers politicians Social Democratic Party of Finland politicians Socialist Unity Party (Finland) politicians Syndicalists Industrial Workers of the World members Finnish trade union leaders {{SocialDemocraticPartyFinland-politician-stub