Urho Castrén Explained

Urho Castrén
Office:18th Prime Minister of Finland
Term Start:21 September 1944
Term End:17 November 1944
President:C. G. E. Mannerheim
Predecessor:Antti Hackzell
Successor:Juho K. Paasikivi
Office2:Minister of Justice
Term Start2:31 December 1925
Term End2:13 December 1926
Primeminister2:Kyösti Kallio
Predecessor2:Oskar Lilius
Successor2:Väinö Hakkila
Birth Name:Urho Jonas Castrén
Birth Date:30 December 1886
Birth Place:Jyväskylä, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire
Death Place:Helsinki, Finland
Party:National Coalition

Urho Jonas Castrén (30 December 1886, in Jyväskylä – 8 March 1965, in Helsinki) was a judge, serving for 27 years as the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland. During the constitutional crisis of 1944,[1] Castrén, representing the National Coalition Party, became Prime Minister of Finland briefly.[2]

Biography

Urho Jonas Castrén was born 30 December 1886, in Jyväskylä to Johannes Castrén and Amanda Ulrika Jussilainen. He attended the Lyceum of Jyväskylä, completing his classics studies in 1904 and earning a legal degree in 1907. He took his Master of Laws in 1910 and obtained a degree in rights in 1912. Between 1918 and 1927 he taught at the Agriculture and Forestry division and Political Science Department of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki as a specialty teacher.[3]

He joined the law firm of Jonas Castrén and worked as an assistant from 1913 to 1914. In 1914, he became a legal counselor and a member of the Helsinki City Court, where he remained until 1917 when he transferred to the Residential Tax Assessor's office. He served on the assessor's Board of Directors between 1917 and 1922. Castrén entered the judiciary in 1922 first serving as Saarijärven judicial district judge until 1926, then as Deputy Chancellor of Justice between 1926 and 1928; Chancellor of Justice from 1928 to 1929;[4] and finally as President of the Supreme Administrative Court from 1929 to 1956.

He was also Minister of Justice from December 1925 to December 1926.[5]

Castrén formed a coalition government after Antti Hackzell became incapacitated. The main task of his government was enforcing the Moscow Armistice.

Castrén was the father of theologian Inga-Brita Castrén.

Cabinets

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Castrén, Urho (1886 - 1965). Kansallisbiografia. Kansallisbiografia. 16 July 2015. Helsinki, Finland. fi.
  2. Web site: Ministerikortisto . Valtioneuvosto.
  3. Web site: Castrén, Urho Joonas. arkisto. Porvarillisen Työn Arkisto. 16 July 2015. Finland. fi.
  4. Web site: Historia – Oikeuskanslerinvirasto. www.okv.fi.
  5. Web site: Council of State - Ministers of Justice . Valtioneuvosto.fi . 27 December 2017 .