Urho Kekkonen

:Kekkonen redirects here. For the Finnish porn star, see Mariah Kekkonen.

Early life

Kekkonen was born in Pielavesi in the Savo region of Finland, the son of Juho Kekkonen and Emilia Pylvänäinen, but spent his childhood in Kainuu. His family were farmers (though not poor tenant farmers, as some of his supporters claimed). His father, originally a farm-hand and forestry worker, eventually became a forestry manager and stock agent at Halla Ltd. It was claimed that Kekkonen's family had lived in a poor farmhouse without a chimney; however, it was later found out that the photographic evidence to back up this claim was fake, and that the chimney had simply been retouched off the photographs depicting Kekkonen's childhood home. His school years did not go smoothly. During the Finnish Civil War, he fought for the White Guard and led a firing squad in Hamina. Kekkonen personally admitted to having killed a man in battle, but not to a mass execution of Red troops committed by his squad. However, a photograph taken at the time proves that Kekkonen was there during the execution.

Related Topics:
Pielavesi - Savo - Kainuu - Farmer - Tenant farmer - Chimney - Retouch - Photograph - Finnish Civil War - White Guard - Firing squad - Hamina - Execution

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In independent Finland, Kekkonen worked as a policeman and journalist. He moved to Helsinki in 1921 to study law, graduating as a Master of Laws in 1926. During his studies he continued to work for the police. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Sylvi Uino, a typist at the police office. 1927, he became a lawyer and worked for the Association of Rural Municipalities. However, he had to resign in 1932 due to abrasive comments. At Helsinki University he was active in the Northern Ostrobothnian Students' Association and was the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper Ylioppilaslehti 1927-1928. He was also an active athlete. His best achievement as a sportsman was to become Finnish high-jump champion (1.85 m) in 1924. The standing jump was his best discipline.

Related Topics:
Police - Journalist - 1921 - Master of Laws - 1926 - 1927 - Lawyer - 1932 - Ylioppilaslehti - 1928 - Athlete

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