Väinö Voionmaa

Kaarle Väinö Voionmaa (to 1906 Wallin) (12 February 1869 in Jyväskylä – 24 May 1947 in Helsinki) was a Finnish professor, diplomat, member of the parliament of Finland, senator, minister and chancellor. He also was one of the most influential politicians during the early times of independent Republic of Finland. He was a Social Democrat.

As an academic, Voionmaa contributed to introduce economic and geographic perspectives into Finnish history writings. He has studied the medieval times and the rise of the modern urban industrial society. He was also one of the founders of the School of Social Sciences in 1930 that eventually became the University of Tampere.

Cabinet positions Voionmaa was one of the senators in the Tokoi senate in 1917 before the declaration of independence. Later he served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Väinö Tanner (1926–1927). He was also the Minister of Trade and Industry in the Cajander 3rd cabinet (1937–1939), and also briefly the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1938. Voionmaa's experience in foreign affairs grew while he was a member of the Finnish delegation to the League of Nations.