Rudolf Holsti (original) (raw)

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Finnish politician, journalist and diplomat

Rudolf Holsti
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office7 October 1936 – 16 November 1938
Prime Minister	Kyösti KallioAimo Cajander
Preceded by	Antti Hackzell
Succeeded by	Väinö Voionmaa
In office28 April 1919 – 2 June 1922
Prime Minister	Kaarlo CastrénJuho VennolaRafael Erich
Preceded by	Carl Enckell
Succeeded by	Carl Enckell
Personal details
Born	Eino Rudolf Woldemar Holsti(1881-10-08)8 October 1881Jyväskylä, Finland
Died	3 August 1945(1945-08-03) (aged 63)Palo Alto, California, U. S
Political party	National Progressive

Eino Rudolf Woldemar Holsti (8 October 1881 in Jyväskylä – 3 August 1945 in Palo Alto, California)[1] was a Finnish politician, journalist and diplomat. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1919–1922 and in 1936–1938[2] and a member of the Finnish Parliament in 1913–1918 representing the Young Finnish Party (Nuorsuomalainen Puolue).

From 1919 he represented the National Progressive Party.[3] Holsti represented Finland in the League of Nations. He was also a republican (opposing the then ongoing movement for monarchy in Finland). A firm supporter of democracy, he openly criticized Adolf Hitler at the outbreak of war. He held a pro-British political stance.[4] Holsti worked for newspapers in Hämeenlinna, Lahti and Helsinki together with his friend and school companion Joel Lehtonen. The friendship ended abruptly when Holsti recognized himself as the satirically portrayed and fictive politician Rolf Idell in Lehtonen's book Sorron lapset (1924). Holsti was also Envoy to Estonia from 1923 to 1927.[5]

Later in life, Holsti taught at Stanford University, after he moved to United States with his two sons: Kalevi and Olavi Holsti (both respected political scientists in their own right). He maintained a healthy correspondence with president Herbert Hoover, and the prime minister and president of Finland. He died on 3 August 1945 at Palo Alto Hospital while undergoing surgery to repair a hernia. His wife Liisa died of tuberculosis on 22 July 1951.

• Temple University, Philadelphia, USA (PhD. h.c) in 1938[6]

1. ^ "Rudolf Holsti: Kansanedustajana 02.02.1914 - 28.05.1918, 05.09.1922 - 10.04.1923" (in Finnish). Eduskunta. Archived from the original on 2011-06-11.
2. ^ "Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland - Ministers of Foreign Affairs". Valtioneuvosto.fi. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
3. ^ Sakari Virkkunen, "The Presidents of Finland", volume I, Helsinki: Otava Publications Ltd., 1994
4. ^ Jukka Nissinen (2019). Finnish Diplomats as Interpreters of Finland's Foreign Policy 1955–1971 Question of Neutrality and Divided Germany (PhD thesis). University of Jyväskylä. p. 16.
5. ^ "Ajalugu" (in Finnish). Embassy of Finland, Tallinn. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
6. ^ Rudolf Holsti at the Parliament of Finland Archive

• Pietiäinen, Jukka-Pekka; Rudolf Holsti, Lehtimies, tiedemies, poliitikko 1881- 1919, Weilin+Göös 1986 .
• Works by or about Rudolf Holsti at the Internet Archive
• Media related to Rudolf Holsti at Wikimedia Commons