Eino Pekkala
Eino Oskari Pekkala (29 November 1887 − 30 September 1956) was a Finnish lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland, representing the Socialist Electoral Organisation of Workers and Smallholders 1927–1930 and the Finnish People's Democratic League 1945–1948. In the 1920−1930s, Pekkala was twice in prison for his political activities, and he was even kidnapped by the fascist Lapua Movement in 1930. As the political situation in Finland changed after the World War II, Pekkala was the Minister of Education 1945–1946, and the Minister of Justice 1946–1948. In his youth, Pekkala was a talented athlete. His greatest achievements were three Finnish Championship titles in decathlon. His brother was the Prime Minister of Finland Mauno Pekkala. Life Early years Eino Pekkala was born in 1887 to the family of the park ranger Johan Oskari Pekkala (1864–1939) and Amanda Matilda Grönroos (1864–1925). In 1888, the family moved to Sysmä, and since 1898, Johan Pekkala worked for the Teiskola Manor in Teisko. The family had four children. They were educated in Tampere, where Pekkala graduated from the high school in 1906. Pekkala entered the University of Helsinki and finished his master's degree in 1911. After working as a teacher in Tampere and Hämeenlinna, he re-entered the University of Helsinki in 1916 for law studies. Pekkala did not participate the 1918 Finnish Civil War although he was active in the Social Democratic movement. Instead of joining the Reds, Pekkala finished his studies. After the war, Pekkala and Väinö Hakkila opened a law firm in Helsinki to help the captured Red Guard fighters. In the politics In 1919, Pekkala was one of the key figures of the left-wing opposition of the Social Democratic Party which soon became the Socialist Workers' Party of Finland. In May 1920, Pekkala was arrested, and given a 1,5-year sentence for his activism in the Komintern-related party. Since 1926, Pekkala and Asser Salo had a law firm in Helsinki. In the late 1920s, Pekkala was active in the Left Group of Finnish Workers which criticized the underground Communist Party of Finland. In the 1927 parliamentary election, Pekkala was elected to the parliament as a member of the Socialist Electoral Organisation of Workers and Smallholders (STPV). On 5 July 1930, the fascist Lapua Movement kidnapped Pekkala and Jalmari Rötkö from the meeting of the Constitutional Law Committee and took them to their headquarters in the Ostrobothnia province. On the following day, Pekkala and Rötkö were handed over to the authorities, after the Minister of Interior E. V. Kuokkanen gave an order to arrest all 23 STPV parliamentarians. As the anti-Communist laws were passed, Pekkala was given a 3-year sentence in November 1930 for an intent to commit a treason. In July 1933, Pekkala took part on a hunger strike in the Tammisaari forced labour camp. The strike ended as five political prisoners died of forced feeding. After his release, Pekkala worked as a lawyer in Helsinki. During the World War II, he assisted arrested Communists and activists of