Jutta Zilliacus

Last updated

Benedict Zilliacus
(m. 1949;died 2013)
[1]
Jutta Zilliacus
Lilla-Teatern-1959-Jutta (crop).jpg
Jutta Zilliacus in 1959
MP for Swedish People's Party
In office
1975–1987
ChildrenStefan
OccupationJournalist and author

Jutta Armelle Zilliacus (born 25 July 1925) is a Finnish-born ethnic Estonian journalist and author in the Swedish language. [2] She was also a politician, and served as a Member of Parliament for the Swedish People's Party for Helsinki from 1975 to 1987 and a member of the Helsinki City Council from 1968 to 1984. [2] [3]

Contents

Biography

Jutta Zilliacus' parents, piano tuner Johann Kingo and Jenny Gertrud, née Pihlak, were both Estonian refugees from St. Petersburg. Her mother had worked as a chambermaid at the court of the Russian Tsar. As a child, Jutta Zilliacus spent her summers in Haapsalu, Estonia, and also had Estonian citizenship since birth. [4]

Jutta Zilliacus first went to a Swedish-language public school and then to Deutsche Schule Helsinki in 1933–1944. After graduating in 1944, she studied, among other things, Latin and music at the University of Helsinki 1944–1946 and at the Sibelius Academy 1944–1946. [5]

Besides working as a freelance journalist since 1968 and a politician, Zilliacus has also worked as a model, actor and briefly as Mannerheims secretary. [4]

Jutta Zilliacus began her political career as a member of the Helsinki City Council and the City Planning Committee from 1969 to 1984. She was a member of the Swedish People's Party's central board from 1973 to 1983, a Member of Parliament from 1975 to 1987, an elector in the presidential elections in 1968, 1977 and 1983, and a political delegate to the UN in 1977 and 1987. [6]

During her political career, Zilliacus worked particularly for gender equality and day care for children. [4]

She married the Finnish-Swedish writer Benedict Zilliacus in 1949, who died in 2013, and has a son. [7] Zilliacus speaks Swedish, Finnish, German, French, Estonian and English. [8]

On 25 July 2025, Zilliacus turned 100. [9]

Zilliacus has also appeared in a handful of feature films under the stage name Jutta Armela and in the series Matti ja Leena in the 1960s under her regular name. [10] [5]

Books

References

  1. Niittylahti, Anni (15 December 2024). "Anna-lehti: Jutta Zilliacuksen avioliitto kesti miehen kuolemaan saakka, vaikka syrjähypystä oli epäilys: 'En halunnut tietää siitä mitään'". Seura (in Finnish). Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  2. 1 2 "On the battleground and in parliament". Finnish Immigration Services. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  3. "Niinistö's secret". Helsingin Sanomat . 7 February 2010. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 "Jutta Zilliacus fyller 100 år och förstår inte hur det är möjligt: "Jag har minsann inte levt som en nunna!"". Svenska Yle (in Swedish). 25 July 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Zilliacus, Jutta Armelle". Writers in Finland 1945–1980 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura och Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland. 1985. pp. 775–776. ISBN   951-717-348-2.
  6. "Jutta Zilliacus". www.eduskunta.fi. Archived from the original on 2 August 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  7. kuvaa, Kuusi. ""Minulle henkinen koti on aina se kieli, jota kulloinkin puhun", sanoo kielitaitoinen 99-vuotias Jutta Zilliacus". yle.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  8. kuvaa, Kuusi. ""Minulle henkinen koti on aina se kieli, jota kulloinkin puhun", sanoo kielitaitoinen 99-vuotias Jutta Zilliacus". yle.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  9. "Satavuotias Jutta Zilliacus muistelee hetkiään marsalkka Mannerheimin kanssa – "Jos olisin ollut vähän vanhempi, olisin rakastunut häneen"". Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). 25 July 2025. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  10. "Jutta Zilliacus - Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 19 December 2025.