Minister of Education
What was the position of Eino Pekkala from Dec 1945 to Mar 1946?
Eino Pekkala Eino Oskari Pekkala ( 29 November 1887 − 30 September 1956 ) was a Finnish lawyer and politician . He was a member of the Parliament of Finland , representing the Socialist Electoral Organisation of Workers and Smallholders 1927–1930 and the Finnish Peoples Democratic League 1945–1948 . In the 1920−1930s , Pekkala was twice in prison for his political activities , and he was even kidnapped by the fascist Lapua Movement in 1930 . As the political situation in Finland changed after the World War II , Pekkala was the Minister of Education 1945–1946 , and the Minister of Justice 1946–1948 . In his youth , Pekkala was a talented athlete . His greatest achievements were three Finnish Championship titles in decathlon . His brother was the Prime Minister of Finland Mauno Pekkala . Life . Early years . Eino Pekkala was born in 1887 to the family of the park ranger Johan Oskari Pekkala ( 1864–1939 ) and Amanda Matilda Grönroos ( 1864–1925 ) . In 1888 , the family moved to Sysmä , and since 1898 , Johan Pekkala worked for the Teiskola Manor in Teisko . The family had four children . They were educated in Tampere , where Pekkala graduated from the high school in 1906 . Pekkala entered the University of Helsinki and finished his masters degree in 1911 . After working as a teacher in Tampere and Hämeenlinna , he re-entered the University of Helsinki in 1916 for law studies . Pekkala did not participate the 1918 Finnish Civil War although he was active in the Social Democratic movement . Instead of joining the Reds , Pekkala finished his studies . After the war , Pekkala and Väinö Hakkila opened a law firm in Helsinki to help the captured Red Guard fighters . In the politics . In 1919 , Pekkala was one of the key figures of the left-wing opposition of the Social Democratic Party which soon became the Socialist Workers Party of Finland . In May 1920 , Pekkala was arrested , and given a 1,5-year sentence for his activism in the Komintern-related party . Since 1926 , Pekkala and Asser Salo had a law firm in Helsinki . In the late 1920s , Pekkala was active in the Left Group of Finnish Workers which criticized the underground Communist Party of Finland . In the 1927 parliamentary election , Pekkala was elected to the parliament as a member of the Socialist Electoral Organisation of Workers and Smallholders ( STPV ) . In 5 July 1930 , the fascist Lapua Movement kidnapped Pekkala and Jalmari Rötkö from the meeting of the Constitutional Law Committee and took them to their headquarters in the Ostrobothnia province . On the following day , Pekkala and Rötkö were handed over to the authorities , after the Minister of Interior E . V . Kuokkanen gave an order to arrest all 23 STPV parliamentarians . As the anti-Communist laws were passed , Pekkala was given a 3-year sentence in November 1930 for an intent to commit a treason . In July 1933 , Pekkala took part on a hunger strike in the Tammisaari forced labour camp . The strike ended as five political prisoners died of forced feeding . After his release , Pekkala worked as a lawyer in Helsinki . During the World War II , he assisted arrested Communists and activists of the anti-war resistance . His clients included Pellervo Takatalo , Aimo Rikka and Martta Koskinen who were all given the capital punishment . Pekkala managed to change Takatalos and Rikkas sentences for life in prison , but Koskinen was executed in September 1943 . As the war was over , the Communist organizations were legalized , and Pekkala was re-elected to the Parliament in the 1945 parliamentary election representing the Finnish Peoples Democratic League . In 1945–1946 he served as the Minister of Education , and 1946–1948 as the Minister of Justice . In 1946–1947 , Pekkala was a member of the special court of the War-responsibility trials set by the Allies . Pekkala left the politics in 1948 , and ran a law firm in Helsinki until his death in September 1956 . Sports . Pekkala won 16 medals in the Finnish Championships in Athletics between 1907 and 1911 . He was the triple champion of decathlon ( 1907 , 1909 and 1910 ) , and the silver medalist of 110 metres hurdles ( 1910–1911 ) . In 1919 , Pekkala was a founder of the Finnish Workers Sports Federation , and served as its first chairman until 1927 . He was also a member of the organizing committee of the 1952 Summer Olympics . Personal life . Pekkala was married to the Estonian communist Salme Murrik from 1913 to 1924 . In 1928 , he married the British communist Mary Moorhouse . Their daughter Salme Anne Pekkala ( b . 1928 ) was married to the diplomat Risto Hyvärinen .