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Front: Juho Kusti Paasikivi (1870-1956), President of Finland 1946-1956

Paasikivi studied law and received his Doctor of Law degree in 1901. He was Director of Finland's National Bank in 1902. However, he was involved in Finland's politics in most of his adult life.

At the outbreak of 1917 Russian revolution, Paasikivi championed full independence from the Russian Empire. He favored constitutional monarchy for Finland. Paasikivi served briefly in 1918 as Prime Minister with Väinö I of Finland as king. After WWI, Finland became a republic and Paasikivi returned to the bank.

Paasikivi was appointed ambassador to Sweden in 1936, and later served as ambassador to Moscow. He was again appointed Prime Minister immediately after WWII, and later selected as President.

Back: Coat of Arms

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Front: Paavo Nurmi (1897-1973), Finnish runner

Nurmi was the best middle and long distance runner in the world during the 1920s, setting world records on distances between 1500 m and 20 km. He won a total of nine gold medals at the Olympic Games from 1920 to 1928

Back: Helsinki Olymic Stasium

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Front: Väino, Linna (1920-1992), Finnish author

His epic war novel The Unknown Soldier (1954) gave rise to nationwide controversy and gained an unprecedented success. It is a truthful, unvarnished description of war and the internal relationships between the officers and the rank and file. The Unknown Soldier is arguably the first anti-war novel ever written in this century. 500,000 copies were sold by 1990, one for every 10 Finns.

Back: Tampere street scene

Finland, the second most northerly state of the European continent, was settled by the Finns in the 7th century. Conquered by Sweden in the 12th century. Became a grand duchy within the Russian Empire from 1809 to 1917. Declared an independent republic in 1917. For a more detailed country profile, see CIA World Factbook on Finland.

Beginning on January 1, 2002 Euro becomes the official currency for Finland.