Ahti Karjalainen (1923–1990)
Born 1923 CE, died 1990 CE.
Ahti Kalle Samuli Karjalainen (10 February 1923 – 7 September 1990) was a Finnish economist and politician. He was a member of the Agrarian League (later known as Keskusta, Centre Party) and served two terms as Prime Minister of Finland. He is, however, better known for his period as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland. Karjalainen is considered one of the most influential figures in post-war Finnish politics. Like President Urho Kekkonen, whom he served as private secretary from 1950, Karjalainen attached great importance to Finland's relationship with the Soviet Union. The two men remained close political allies for more than two decades, and by the 1960s and early 1970s Karjalainen was widely seen as Kekkonen's likely successor as president. Their relationship deteriorated in the early 1970s, and Karjalainen never attained the presidency, in part as alcoholism affected his later career. Alongside politics, he also built a parallel career at the Bank of Finland, ultimately serving as its governor from 1982 to 1983.
Text from the Wikipedia article Ahti_Karjalainen, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.