Kallio, Kyösti

Related Category: Scandinavian History: Biographies

(kü´östē käl´lyô), 1873–1940, Finnish political leader. Of peasant background, he entered politics and was a vocal advocate of Finnish independence from Russia. Minister of agriculture in the newly independent government (1917–20, 1921–22), he was instrumental in inaugurating land redistribution. He served a number of times as prime minister (1922–24, 1925–26, 1929–30, and 1936–37) and was president of Finland from 1937 to Nov., 1940. Illness and strain brought on by the Finnish-Russian War of 1939–40 led to his resignation.