Kalevi Sorsa

Sorsa is regarded as one of Finland's most influential prime ministers, making major contributions to schools and health care, and increasing social security for families with children and pensioners. His governments strengthened the welfare state in Finland, by enacting many reforms—child care laws, longer maternity leave, the annual vacation benefit act, as well as the public health act.

A 2008 book by historian Jukka Seppinen suggested that Sorsa was at this date already receiving support from Soviet backers in the KGB.

The Kalevi Sorsa Foundation is a social democratic think tank, established in 2005 and named in his honour.

He died of cancer on 16 January 2004 at his home in Helsinki at the age of 73. He was survived by his wife; the couple had no children.

In 1993, Sorsa entered the Social Democratic Party's primary elections as a presidential candidate, but was forced to withdraw after revelations of his long-standing covert relations with the Soviet leadership.

In 1992 Kalevi Sorsa announced that he would stand in the coming 1994 presidential elections. However, documents found in the CPSU Central Committee archive in Moscow during the trial of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union indicated that Sorsa had long maintained "confidential contacts" with the Soviet authorities. When news of this information finally broke in the Finnish press, Sorsa issued a public apology and withdrew his candidacy. Martti Ahtisaari took his place as the candidate of the Social Democratic Party and won the election.

After his premiership he served as the Speaker of the Finnish Parliament from 1989 to 1991. During his career he also served twice as Deputy Prime Minister, from 1975 to 1976 and from 1987 to 1989. From 1987 to 1996, Sorsa served on the governing board of the Bank of Finland. He was also known for his participation as the convener in the economic policy seminar at Hotel Korpilampi in Lahnus, Espoo, in September 1977.

In June 1984, Sorsa gave a speech on "infocracy" (i.e. the power of the mass media) at the Social Democratic party convention. Infocracy challenges parliamentary democracy, is unintelligent and avoids discussing social problems, he said: it takes more interest in individual politicians than political issues and is never critical of its own actions.

He was replaced as SDP candidate by Martti Ahtisaari, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1977 to 1981, who went on to become Finnish President. Ahtisaari was supported by a small but significant group of Finnish politicians who had long been hostile to Kaleva: Erkki Tuomioja, Lasse Lehtinen and Matti Ahde.

Sorsa was a leading political figure during the presidencies of Kekkonen and Koivisto. He served as the chairman of the Social Democratic Party from 1975 to 1987 and was Prime Minister of Finland in four cabinets for a total of ten years (1972–1975, 1977–1979, 1982–1983, 1983–1987). He remains Finland's longest-serving prime minister.

Three times Kalevi Sorsa served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Finland): in 1972; in 1975–1976; and from 1987 to 1989.

Sorsa was also active in the international social democratic movement, and in the mid-1970s was elected vice-president of the Socialist International.

In 1969, he was brought in from relative obscurity by Rafael Paasio, a former Prime Minister of Finland, to assume the influential post of party secretary, despite not having much previous experience of national politics.

Sorsa attended school in Jyväskylä and Lappeenranta. At the age of 18, Sorsa's involvement with the SDP started in Lappeenranta. Prior to his political career, Sorsa worked in Paris for UNESCO from 1959 to 1965 and served as Secretary-General of the Finnish UNESCO board from 1965 to 1969. In the late 1960s, he also served as an official in the Ministry of Education.

Kalevi Sorsa was born on December 21, 1930 in Keuruu, Finland as Taisto Kalevi Sorsa.