Pehr Evind Svinhufvud


Svinhufvud, Pehr Evind

 

Born Dec. 15, 1861, in Sääk-smäki; died Feb. 29, 1944, in Luumäki. Finnish state and political figure.

A lawyer by education, Svinhufvud was a member of the Finnish Parliament and its first chairman from 1907 to 1914. He belonged to the right wing of the Young Finns. In 1914 he was exiled to Siberia for his opposition to the policies of tsarism.

From November 1917 to May 1918, Svinhufvud was Finland’s first prime minister. With the outbreak of the Finnish Revolution of 1918, he fled to the city of Vaasa, where he took part in the organization of the counterrevolutionary forces. He served as regent from May to December 1918 and was a leader of the white terror of 1918–19. While prime minister in 1930 and 1931, Svinhufvud implemented a number of anticommunist laws. He served as president from 1931 to 1937 and subsequently retired from politics.