Kekkonen

[ kek-uh-nuhn; Finnish kek-kaw-nen ]

noun

1. Ur·ho Ka·le·va [oor, -haw , kah, -le-vah], 1900–86, Finnish statesman: president 1956–81.

Kekkonen

/ ˈkɛkkɔnɛn /

noun

1. KekkonenUrho19001986MFinnishPOLITICS: statesmanPOLITICS: head of state Urho (ˈurhɔ). (1900–86), Finnish statesman; president (1956–81)

Example Sentences

Former Finnish President Urho Kekkonen, an architect of the policy of cooperation with the neighboring Soviet Union and a champion of world peace, helped craft the Helsinki Accords, a historic agreement signed in 1975 by the U.S., the Soviet Union, Canada and every European nation except Albania aimed at improving détente between the Soviet Union and the West.

From Salon

In the 1960s, Finland's Cold War leader - Urho Kekkonen - took the then President of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev into an all-night sauna and persuaded him to allow Finland to integrate with the West.

From BBC

He is compared by some to Urho Kekkonen, who took power in 1956 and ruled Finland for 25 years, during the so-called Finlandization period of the Cold War.

From New York Times

“My generation had Kekkonen and he was the father of the country. And he is a little something like that. It’s a pity that he must leave office soon.”

From New York Times

But for some relentlessly scenic vistas—and skiing nearly eight months a year—you’ll want to keep heading north until you reach Lapland’s Urho Kekkonen Park, which features rolling mountains, frozen lakes and arctic forests.

From Wall Street Journal