Kuusinen, Herta

Born Feb. 14, 1904, in the community of Luhanka, central Finland; died Mar. 18, 1974, in Moscow. Finnish public and political figure. Prominent figure in the international democratic women’s movement. Daughter of O. V. Kuusinen. Became a member of the Communist Party of Finland (CPF) in 1930.

Kuusinen was imprisoned several times for revolutionary activity (from 1934 to 1939 and from 1941 to 1944). After 1939 she was a member of the Central Committee of the CPF: from 1944 to 1970 she was a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPF, and after April 1972 she was honorary chairwoman of the CPF. In October 1944, Kuusinen became a member of the Executive Committee of the Finnish People’s Democratic League; from 1951 to 1958 she was its general secretary, and in 1958 she was elected deputy chairwoman. From 1945 to 1971 she was a parliamentary deputy, and from 1945 to 1966 she served as chairwoman of the Democratic League’s parliamentary faction.

After 1944, Kuusinen was a leader of the Finland—USSR Society. In 1948 she served as minister without portfolio in the government of M. Pekkala. In 1952 she became a member of the Executive Committee of the Democratic League of Finnish Women. In 1969, Kuusinen was elected president of the Women’s International Democratic Federation, and after 1969 she was a member of the presidium of the World Peace Council.