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The Finnish general strike of 1956 is the latest of the three general strikes in Finnish history; there have also been general strikes in 1905 and 1917. The 1956 strike occurred from March 1 to March 20, 1956. About 500,000 Finnish citizens took part in the strike. [1]
Following the end of post-war price control measures by the government in 1955, the prices of many goods and services was on the rise. The cost of living in Finland increased by 7% in two months. The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) attempted to raise the overall level of wages to account for the rise in the price level. Though internally conflicted on the fine print, the SAK was demanding a raise of 12 mk per hour, which would raise the wages of Finnish workers by 6–10 percent.
The 1956 presidential election coincided with the industrial negotiations. [2] One of the candidates was then-Prime Minister Urho Kekkonen, who didn't want to risk losing the presidential electoral college vote by accepting the SAK's proposal.
On February 16, the SAK's leadership decided to go forth and launch a general strike. Following the fall-through of emergency negotiations between the SAK and then Speaker of the Parliament Karl-August Fagerholm, the industrial action was started at 06:00 on March 1, [3] the day President Urho Kekkonen assumed office for his first term.
The general strike, which concluded on 20 March, resulted in a nationwide wage increase of 6–10 percent. [4]
The general strike intensified the internal conflicts of the Social Democratic Party and resulted in a leftist faction centred around Emil Skog leaving the party shortly after. [5]
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen, often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 until 1982. He was the third and most recent president from the Agrarian League/Centre Party. As head of state for nearly 26 years, he dominated Finnish politics, held a large amount of power, won his later elections with little opposition and has often been classified as an autocrat. Nevertheless, he remains a respected figure.
Mauno Henrik KoivistoGOIH was a Finnish politician who served as the ninth president of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served twice as the prime minister, from 1968–1970 and again from 1979–1982. He was also the first Social Democratic Party member to be elected President of Finland.
Juho Kusti Paasikivi was the seventh president of Finland (1946–1956). Representing the Finnish Party and the National Coalition Party, he also served as Prime Minister of Finland. In addition to the above, Paasikivi held several other positions of trust, and was an influential figure in Finnish economics and politics for over fifty years.
Matti Taneli Vanhanen is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010. He was also Chairman of the Centre Party and President of the European Council in 2006. In his earlier career, he was a journalist. Vanhanen is the son of professor Tatu Vanhanen and Anni Tiihonen.
The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns, is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party.
Johannes Virolainen was a Finnish politician and who served as 30th Prime Minister of Finland.
Karl-August Fagerholm was Speaker of Parliament and three times Prime Minister of Finland. Fagerholm became one of the leading politicians of the Social Democrats after the armistice in the Continuation War. As a Scandinavia-oriented Swedish-speaking Finn, he was believed to be more to the taste of the Soviet Union's leadership than his predecessor, Väinö Tanner. Fagerholm's postwar career was, however, marked by fierce opposition from both the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of Finland. He narrowly lost the presidential election to Urho Kekkonen in 1956.
The Karelian question or Karelian issue is a dispute in Finnish politics over whether to try to regain control over eastern Finnish Karelia and other territories ceded to the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War. Despite the name "Karelian question", the term may refer also to the return of Petsamo, ceded parts of Salla and Kuusamo, and four islands in the Gulf of Finland. Sometimes the phrase "debate on the return of the ceded territories" is used. The Karelian question remains a matter of public debate rather than a political issue.
Keijo Antero Liinamaa was a Finnish lawyer and politician who served as caretaker Prime Minister of Finland from June to November 1975.
Kari Yrjänä Suomalainen was Finland's most famous political cartoonist, known as Kari. His cartoons appeared daily in Helsingin Sanomat from 1951 to 1991 and they became popular throughout the nation. While most of them comment on current politics, some are based on everyday life. Suomalainen received many awards for his work, including the National Cartoonist Society (US) award in 1959, Puupäähattu in 1984 and Pro Finlandia in 1989. He was also appointed honorary professor in 1977.
Paavo Matti Väyrynen is a Finnish politician and former member of the Finnish Parliament who has represented the Seven Star Movement, the Citizen's Party and Centre Party. He is currently member of Centre Party. Väyrynen has been a member of the Finnish Parliament previously from 1970 to 1995, and again from 2007 to 2011 and has held many ministerial portfolios. He has also been a Member of the European Parliament from 1995 to 2007, and again from 2014 to 2018.
Sakari Severi Tuomioja was a Finnish politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Finland between 1953-1954 and as Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1951-1952 and as the Governor of the Bank of Finland between 1945–1955. He was also Finland's ambassador in London and Stockholm.
Tamminiemi is a villa and house museum located in the Meilahti district of Helsinki, Finland. It was one of the three official residences of the President of Finland, from 1940 until 1981. From 1956, until his death, it served as the residence of President Urho Kekkonen. Since 1987, it has been the Urho Kekkonen Museum. It is located in a park by the sea. Tamminiemi's floor area is about 450 square metres (4,800 sq ft); living quarters comprise the first two floors while the third floor is dedicated to office space.
Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 1 and 2 July 1951.
Väinö Olavi Leskinen was a Finnish politician, minister and a member of the parliament from Social Democratic Party of Finland. He is perceived as one of the major Finnish social democratic politicians of the 1950s and 1960s.
The Constitutional Right Party was an anticommunist political party in Finland. The party was founded in 1973 by the parliamentarian Master in Law Georg C. Ehrnrooth as an anticommunist split from the Swedish People's Party (SFP).
The Social Democratic Party of Finland, shortened to the Social Democrats and commonly known in Finnish as Demarit, is a social-democratic political party in Finland. It is currently the largest party in the Parliament of Finland with 40 seats.
The cabinet of Juha Sipilä was the 74th government of Finland, from 2015 to 2019. It was formed following the parliamentary election of 2015 and formally appointed by President Sauli Niinistö on 29 May 2015. From June 2017, the cabinet consisted of a coalition formed by the Centre Party, Blue Reform and the National Coalition Party. The cabinet's Prime Minister was Juha Sipilä.
Vieno Simonen was a Finnish politician and farmer. A member of the Agrarian League, she represented Kuopio East in the Parliament of Finland from 1948 to 1962. After serving in deputy ministerial positions in the Kekkonen IV, Törngren, and Fagerholm II cabinets, she was twice appointed as minister of social affairs by prime ministers V. J. Sukselainen and Martti Miettunen, and held the position from 1959 to 1962.
Kerttu Saalasti was a Finnish politician who was the Finland Minister of Education from 1954 to 1956 and from May 1957 to November 1957. She was the first female Minister of Education in Finland, and introduced the legislation that established the University of Oulu. A member of the Agrarian League, Saalasti also represented Oulu in the Parliament of Finland from 1948 to 1962 and from 1966 to 1970.
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