Urho Kekkonen, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Urho Kekkonen

eighth President of Finland

Date of Birth: 03-Sep-1900

Place of Birth: Lepikon torppa, Eastern Finland Province, Finland

Date of Death: 31-Aug-1986

Profession: lawyer, politician, police officer, journalist, sprinter, athletics competitor

Nationality: Finland

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (pronounced ['urho 'kek?onen] (listen); 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986) was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving President of Finland (1956–82).
He ruled over Finland for nearly 26 years, and held a questionably large amount of power; he is often classified as an autocrat.
Regardless, he remains a popular, respected and recognizable figure.
Previously, he had served as Prime Minister of Finland (1950–53, 1954–56), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1952–53, 1954), Speaker of the Finnish Parliament (1948–50) and Minister of Justice (1936–37, 1944–46, 1951).
As president, Kekkonen continued the "active neutrality" policy of his predecessor President Juho Kusti Paasikivi, a doctrine that came to be known as the "Paasikivi–Kekkonen line", under which Finland retained its independence while maintaining good relations and extensive trade with members of both NATO and the Warsaw Pact.
He hosted the European Conference on Security and Co-operation in Helsinki in 1975 and was considered a potential candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize that year. In addition to his extensive political career, Kekkonen was known as a writer.
He famously wrote humorous, informative columns (causerie) for the Suomen Kuvalehti magazine under several pseudonyms, even during his presidency.