Aimo Aaltonen

Aimo Aaltonen
Leader of the Communist Party of Finland
In office 1944–1945
Preceded by	Jukka Lehtosaari
Succeeded by	Aaro Uusitalo
In office 1948–1966
Preceded by	Aaro Uusitalo
Succeeded by	Aarne Saarinen
Deputy Leader of the Valpo
In office 1946–1949
Member of Parliament for Finland Proper
In office 6 April 1945 – 19 February 1962
Personal details
Born	10 December 1906 Pargas, Finland
Died	21 September 1987 (aged 81) Helsinki, Finland
Political party	SKP SKDL

Aimo Anshelm Aaltonen (10 December 1906 – 21 September 1987) was a Finnish construction worker, carpenter, and politician.

Biography

Aaltonen was born in Pargas and was the middle of 3 sons, and had multiple jobs by the time he was ten, and became a carpenter at 13. At 17 he joined the Worker's Sports Federation (AIF) and approached other left-wing organizations. Having been in touch with communists from his local area, he became a communist as a young man and went to the Soviet Union in 1930, where he studied from 1930 to 1933 at the Communist University of the National Minorities of the West in Leningrad. Shortly after he returned to Finland, he was arrested on sedition charges and spent ten years in prison. In 1944 he was freed as a result of the Moscow Armistice of 19 September 1944, which led to the legalisation of the Communist Party of Finland (SKP). Aaltonen served as the chairman of the SKP from 1944 to 1945 and again from 1948 to 1966. He was the deputy chief of the VALPO (the Finnish Security Service) from 1945 to 1947. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1945 to 1962, representing the Finnish People's Democratic League (SKDL).