Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons¹²

Eljas Erkko

Finnish politician and journalist

Juho Eljas Erkko (1 June 1895 in Helsinki – 20 February 1965 in Helsinki) was a Finnish politician and journalist. He was the foreign minister and negotiated with the Soviet Union before the Winter War started.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Eljas Erkko (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Jun 1, 1895, died Feb 20, 1965.¹

About

Erkko's father, too, was a politician and journalist, Eero Erkko; his son was a journalist, Aatos Erkko.

Eljas Erkko graduated as Abitur in 1914, Vimpeli School of War in 1918 and Master of Laws in 1922. In 1918, he fought for the White Guards in the Finnish Civil War, the Battle of Ruovesi. He was elected as a Member of Parliament on 1 September 1933 from the Uusimaa constituency. Erkko was a President's elector chosen by voters in the presidential elections held in 1931, 1937, 1940, and 1943.

Erkko was the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1938 and 1939, as the Finns negotiated with the Soviet Union. The Soviets demanded the exchange of areas with Finland. Erkko did not want to make any concessions. As the Winter War started, Väinö Tanner was assigned a new government and decided to appoint himself as the foreign minister. In 1939 and 1940, he was a chargé d'affaires in Stockholm.

At the beginning of the Continuation War, Erkko was the head of the POW office in Finland until 1942. After the war, Erkko was charged in a court-martial in 1946, but the charges were dropped.

From Wikipedia’s article on Eljas Erkko, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

LehtikuvaFounder¹¹

Early life and education

Date not recordedHelsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu³

Career

Occupation: diplomat, politician, journalist.⁶

Date not recordedFounded Lehtikuva⁴
Date not recordedMinister for Foreign Affairs of Finland⁵
Date not recordedMember of the Parliament of Finland⁵

Personal life

BornJun 1, 1895, Helsinki⁷
DiedFeb 20, 1965, Helsinki⁸
CitizenshipGrand Duchy of Finland, Finland⁹

Awards

1964Commander of the Legion of Honour¹⁰
1964Gold Medal of Merit of the Reserve Officers Association¹⁰
1960Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon¹⁰
1942Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class¹⁰
1941Medal of Merit, First Class, of the Civil Defence¹⁰
1939Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star¹⁰
19383rd Class of the Order of the Cross of the Eagle¹⁰
1937Commander of the Order of Polonia Restituta¹⁰
1936Commander of the Order of Leopold II¹⁰
1929commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy‎¹⁰

More awards (7)

1924Knight of the Legion of Honour¹⁰
1918Cross of Liberty, 4th Class¹⁰
Date not recordedCommander of the Order of the Polar Star¹⁰
Date not recordedMemorial medal of the Continuation War¹⁰
Date not recordedMemorial medal of the War of Liberation¹⁰
Date not recordedMemorial medal of the Winter War¹⁰
Date not recordedOrder of Civil Merit¹⁰

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

1
WikidataEljas Erkko on Wikidata
2
WikipediaEljas Erkko on Wikipedia
3
WikidataEljas Erkko: education, on Wikidata
4
WikidataEljas Erkko: Founded Lehtikuva, on Wikidata
5
WikidataEljas Erkko: Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, on Wikidata
6
WikidataEljas Erkko: occupation, on Wikidata
7
WikidataEljas Erkko: place of birth, on Wikidata
8
WikidataEljas Erkko: place of death, on Wikidata
9
WikidataEljas Erkko: citizenship, on Wikidata
10
WikidataEljas Erkko: award, on Wikidata
11
WikidataLehtikuva, Founder
12
Wikimedia CommonsEljas Erkko photo by Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain