Risto Ryti
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President Risto Ryti KCVO |
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|---|---|
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| 5th President of Finland | |
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In office 19 December 1940 – 4 August 1944 |
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| Prime Minister |
Jukka Rangell Edwin Linkomies |
| Preceded by | Kyösti Kallio |
| Succeeded by | Gustaf Mannerheim |
| 23rd Prime Minister of Finland | |
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In office 1 December 1939 – 19 December 1940 |
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| President | Kyösti Kallio |
| Preceded by | A. K. Cajander |
| Succeeded by | Jukka Rangell |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
3 February 1889 Huittinen, Finland |
| Died | 25 October 1956 (aged 67) Helsinki, Finland |
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Political party | National Progressive Party (ED) |
| Religion | Theosophy |
Risto Heikki Ryti (Finnish pronunciation: [risto heikːi ryti], 3 February 1889 – 25 October 1956) was the fifth president of Finland, from 1940 to 1944. Ryti started his career as a politician in the field of economics and as a political background figure during the interwar period. He made a wide range of international contacts in the world of banking and within the framework of the League of Nations. Ryti served as prime minister during the Winter War and the Interim Peace. Later he served as president during the Continuation War. After the war, Ryti was the main defendant in the Finnish War-responsibility trials.
Risto Ryti was born in Huittinen, Satakunta, one of seven sons. His parents were Kaarle Evert Ryti, a farmer, and Ida Vivika Junttila. Although he came from a peasant farming background, during his childhood Ryti hardly participated in work on the family's large farm, being a bookish and academically inclined boy. He was educated briefly at Pori Grammar School, and was then tutored at home, before enrolling in the University of Helsinki in 1906 to study law. Ryti was the only one of seven sons to pass the university entrance examination; however his three sisters also matriculated.
Ryti graduated in autumn 1909 as Finland was moving into the second period of Russification. Escaping an oppressive political atmosphere in the capital, Ryti returned to his roots in Satakunta, where he established himself as a lawyer in Rauma. During this period he became acquainted with Alfred Kordelin, one of Finland's richest men. Ryti became Kordelin's lawyer, and eventually the two men became close friends. During this period Ryti also undertook further studies, becoming a Master of Laws in 1912. In the spring of 1914 he moved to Oxford to study maritime law, but the outbreak of World War I forced him to return to Finland. In 1916 he married Gerda Paula Serlachius (1886–1984). They had three children, Henrik (1916-2002), Niilo (1919–1997), and Eva (1922–2009).
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