Karl-August Fagerholm

Prime Minister of Finland

31 December 1901 Siuntio, Finland

22 May 1984(1984-05-22) (82) Helsinki, Finland

29 August 1958 – 13 January 1959

Prime Minister of Finland (1948–50, 1956–57, and 1958–59) Karl-August Fagerholm (31 December 1901, in Siuntio – 22 May 1984, in Helsinki) was Speaker of Parliament and three times Prime Minister of Finland (1948–50, 1956–57, and 1958–59). Fagerholm became one of the leading politicians of the Social Democrats after the armistice in the Continuation War. As a Scandinavia-oriented Swedish-speaking Finn, he was believed to be more to the taste of the Soviet Union's leadership than his predecessor, Väinö Tanner. Fagerholm's postwar career was, however, marked by fierce opposition from both the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of Finland. He narrowly lost the presidential election to Urho Kekkonen in 1956.