Toivo Mikael Kivimäki

Toivo Mikael Kivimäki
Prime Minister of Finland
In office
December 14, 1932 – October 7, 1936
Preceded by Juho Sunila
Succeeded by Kyösti Kallio
Personal details
Born June 5, 1886
Tarvasjoki, Finland
Died May 6, 1968
Political party National Progressive Party

Toivo Mikael Kivimäki (5 June 1886 – 6 May 1968), J.D., was head of the department of civil law at Helsinki University 1931–1956, Prime Minister of Finland 1932–1936, and Finland's ambassador to Berlin 1940–1944 [1].

In 1946, Kivimäki together with half-a-dozen other leading politicians were put on "war-responsibility trials" that generally were considered a complete miscarriage of justice, executed under pressure from the Allied victors in World War II, and in breach of Finland's constitutional traditions. Kivimäki was sentenced to five years in prison after being found responsible for the Continuation War (which started with a Soviet air-attack on Finnish towns on June 25, 1941). After Finland signed the Paris Peace Treaties, 1947, and the Finno–Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance, 1948, the international situation was deemed somewhat stabilized, and Kivimäki was pardoned. He returned to his career in academia.

As with all politicians connected with the Continuation War, Kivimäki was for decades seen in a somewhat critical light. During the era of finlandization, many prominent Finns expressed themselves cautiously on such subjects in order not to disturb sensitive Allied victors of the war; a cautiousness that without doubt influenced Finland's post-war generation's understanding and views.

However, a post-Soviet assessment of Kivimäki can not avoid the conclusion that he was an extraordinarily successful politician:

Several individuals and factors were critical for Finland's survival as a sovereign state and, indeed, as a nation during the rough times of the Winter War and the Continuation War. Kivimäki without any doubt occupies a prominent position among these.

References

Political offices
Preceded by
Juho Sunila
Prime Minister of Finland
1932–1936
Succeeded by
Kyösti Kallio
Preceded by
Karl Söderholm
Minister of Justice
1931–1932
Succeeded by
Hugo Malmberg
Preceded by
Matti Aura
Minister of the Interior
1928–1929
Succeeded by
Arvo Linturi