Väinö Tanner
Väinö Tanner (
1881-
1966), pioneer leader in
Finland's
Co-op Movement, became after the
Civil War in Finland, in which he hadn't participated, Finland's leading
Social Democratic politician, and a strong proponent of
Parliamentarism. His main achievment was the party's rehabilitation after the Civil War. Väinö Tanner served as
Prime Minister 1926-
1927, Minister of Finance
1937-
1939, Foreign Minister
1939-
1940, and after the
Winter War, when he according to
Soviet wishes had resigned from the Foreign Ministry, as Minister of Trade
1940-
1942.
To accommodate the Soviet Union, Väinö Tanner was after the Continuation War tried by a war tribunal in February 1946, and sentenced to 5½ years in prison.