Eero Erkko

Eero Erkko (18 May 1860, Orimattila – 14 October 1927, Helsinki) was a Finnish journalist and politician. He founded the newspaper Päivälehti in 1889 and later became editor-in-chief of its successor Helsingin Sanomat. A leading figure in the passive resistance to the Russification of Finland, Erkko was exiled in 1903 and spent his exile in the United States. and served as its first editor-in-chief from 1889 to 1900. The paper fell silent shortly after the outbreak of the Finnish Civil War in 1918 and resumed publication on 13 April that year. After returning to the editorial offices in 1920, Erkko modernised the foreign-news desk and introduced other reforms that quickly doubled the paper's circulation. He became the largest shareholder and chairman of the board of the company, and toward the end of his life asked his eldest son Eljas Erkko to take over his post in the editorial office.

Family In 1894 Erkko married Maria Aurora ("Maissi") Holländer of Turku, who was twelve years his junior.