Kyösti Kallio

Kyösti Kallio (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈkyø̯sti ˈkɑlːio], 10 April 1873 – 19 December 1940) was a Finnish politician who served as the president of Finland from 1937 to 1940. His presidency included leading the country through the Winter War; while he relinquished the post of commander-in-chief to Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, he played a role as a spiritual leader. After the war, he became both the first president of Finland to resign and the only one to die in office, dying of a heart attack while returning home after submitting his resignation. Kallio was the only president of Finland who did not have an academic or similar degree. He was a prominent leader of the Agrarian League party, and served as Prime Minister four times and Speaker of the Parliament six times. During his political career, he also served as a five-time Minister of Agriculture for most of the period between 1917 and 1922, including in the Independence Senate and the Civil War-era White cabinet, led a 1922 land reform to aid tenant farmers in acquiring their own land, and was a candidate in the 1931 presidential election before defeating incumbent president Pehr Evind Svinhufvud in the subsequent elections of 1937.