Urho Kekkonen (1900)

The leading spokesman of the Center Party, Kekkonen became Finland's prime minister in 1950 and succeeded Juho Paasikivi as president in 1956. After his reelection in 1962 and 1968, the Finnish parliament voted to extend his term, which was to expire in 1974, until 1978, at which time he was elected to his final term as president. Throughout his career, Kekkonen succeeded in maintaining friendly neutrality with the USSR. Many believe Kekkonen was responsible for Finlandization, which was what? More...