Jacob Emil Perttilä (born Ahlberg, since 1909 Palander, 18 February 1875 – 21 August 1933) was a Finnish

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

. He was a Member of the

Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral and Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that ...

for 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 Form ...

in 1907-1908. Perttilä was also known as a playwright who wrote comedy scripts.

Life

Emil Perttilä was born in

Isokyrö Isokyrö (; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region, from Vaasa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . In the name of the municip ...

, Ostrobothnia as an illegitimate child of a housemaid. He worked as a carpenter in 1890s in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

before becoming the treasurer of the Social Democratic Party in 1904. Perttilä was the chairman of the Finnish Carpenters Union 1899, the chairman of the Central Committee of the

Finnish general strike of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, th ...

and the chairman of the Social Democratic Party 1905-1906. He was also a founder of the Finnish Trade Union Federation, established 1907. In March 1909, Perttilä quit his post and took a small sum of money from the party treasury. He sailed to

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

where he was arrested and sent back to Finland. According to Perttilä, he fled because irregularities had been discovered in the party accounts and his life had been threatened. Perttilä was sentenced a year in prison later that year, but he left the country again. In December 1909, Perttilä arrived in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

with a Swedish passport under the alias Emil Palander, eventually settling in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

in 1914. He died there in 1933. Emil Perttilä was the stepbrother of the politician

Valfrid Perttilä Valfrid Perttilä (23 September 1878 – 17 August 1953) was a Finnish politician and trade unionist. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland 1907–1914 and 1917 representing the Social Democratic Party. During the 1918 Civil War of Finland ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perttilä, Emil 1875 births 1933 deaths Social Democratic Party of Finland politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (1907–1908) Leaders of the Social Democratic Party of Finland Finnish trade unionists Finnish dramatists and playwrights Emigrants from the Grand Duchy of Finland to the United States