Valfrid Perttilä (23 September 1878 – 17 August 1953) 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 ...

1907–1914 and 1917 representing 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 ...

. During the 1918 Civil War of Finland, Perttilä was the chairman of the Central Workers' Council of Finland.

Life

Perttilä lived 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 ...

as a factory worker since 1893 and joined the Social Democratic Party in 1899. During the 1905

General Strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

, Perttilä was a member of the Helsinki General Strike Committee. In 1907, he was elected to the Parliament of Finland. In 1916, Perttilä was one of the founders of the Finnish Seafarers' Union. During the 1918 Civil War, Perttilä was the chairman of the Central Workers' Council, the legislature of the Red Finland. As the Red power collapsed, Perttilä fled to the

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

. In August 1918, he took part on the founding congress of the exile

Communist Party of Finland The Communist Party of Finland (, SKP; ) was a communist political party in Finland. The SKP was a section of Comintern and illegal in Finland until 1944. The SKP was banned by the state from its founding and did not participate in any elec ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In December 1918, Perttilä moved to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

as a political refugee. He stayed in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

until 1920 working as a representative of the Communist Party of Finland. After returning Russia, Perttilä lived in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and worked for the publishing company Kirja and the Finnish-language newspaper '' Vapaus'' (″Freedom″). His wife Augusta Påhlsson (1887–1937) and son Yrjö Mauno Perttilä (1910–1938), who served as an officer in the

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

, were killed in the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

. Perttilä spent his last years in Soviet Karelia in Kondopoga where he died in 1953. Valfrid Perttilä was the stepbrother of the politician Emil Perttilä.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perttilä, Valfrid 1878 births 1953 deaths People from Isokyrö Politicians from Vaasa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Social Democratic Party of Finland politicians Communist Party of Finland politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (1907–1908) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1908–1909) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1910–1911) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1911–1913) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1913–1916) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1916–1917) People of the Finnish Civil War (Red side) Exiled politicians Finnish emigrants to Sweden Finnish emigrants to the Soviet Union Refugees in Sweden Finnish exiles