Juho Kusti Paasikivi

Johan Gustaf Hellstén (Finnicized as Juho Kusti Paasikivi) was born on November 27, 1870, in Koski Hl. A distinguished jurist, historian, and president of Kansallis-Osake-Pankki bank, he negotiated the historic 1920 Treaty of Tartu with Soviet Russia.

Following Finland's defeat in World War II, Paasikivi became Prime Minister in 1944 and President in 1946. Guided by his famous political maxim, 'The recognition of facts is the beginning of all wisdom', he recognized that Finland must convince Moscow it would never permit its territory to be used as a springboard for aggression. His pragmatic diplomacy paid off: Soviet troops vacated their naval base at Porkkala in 1956, and Finland joined the United Nations and Nordic Council as an independent Western democracy.