Oskari Tokoi
| Oskari Tokoi | |
|---|---|
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| Chairman of the Senate of Finland | |
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In office March 26, 1917 – September 8, 1917 |
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| Preceded by | Mihail Borovitinov |
| Succeeded by | Eemil Nestor Setälä |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 15, 1873 Kannus, Finland |
| Died | April 4, 1963 (aged 89) Leominster, Massachusetts, United States |
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
Antti Oskari Tokoi, known by his middle name, (1873-1963) was a Finnish socialist who served as a leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. During the short-lived Revolution of 1918, Tokoi participated as a leading figure in the revolutionary government. Tokoi later emigrated to the United States of America, where he served as the long-time editor of Raivaaja (The Pioneer), the newspaper of the Finnish Socialist Federation.
Oskari Tokoi was born as Antti Oskari Hirvi in Yliviirre parish, Kannus in the Central Ostrobothnia region of Finland on May 15, 1873. The family adopted the surname "Tokoi," the name of a farm purchased by his paternal grandfather, in accordance with common local practice in this period. His father, Kalle, was a farmer and horse-trader.
With the economic situation grim, Tokoi's uncle emigrated to the United States in 1878, inspiring Tokoi's father to follow him in 1881. His father had been one of the few literate people in the area and saw the benefit of reading, an Oskari was enrolled to attend grammar school as a boarder in a neighboring village at the time his father departed for America. Tokoi would be a star pupil at the school, but his parents refused permission for him to attend school after the first four years were completed and literacy attained; Tokoi would never attend a formal educational institution again.
Oskari's father returned to Finland in January 1887. As his brother, Oskari's uncle, had already taken over the family farm, Oskari's father resumed his career as a horse-trader, with mixed success. The interlude proved to be a short one, however, as his father died of an internal ailment at the age of 33, just three months after his return. Tokoi spent the next four years working as a farm laborer for others and for his uncle, with whom he clashed on a personal level.
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