1889–1956
○ War-responsibility conviction 1946, pardoned 1949
Finnish president who, as wartime prime minister, negotiated the Moscow Peace Treaty
This trial is a farce. The real prosecutor is not the Finnish state but the government of one superpower, and the real defendant is the Finnish people.
When the Winter War broke out, Risto Ryti became prime minister of Finland and led the legitimate government that the Soviet Union refused to recognize while backing the Terijoki puppet regime; he negotiated the Moscow Peace Treaty in March 1940. A liberal economist and governor of the Bank of Finland, he was elected president and led Finland through the Continuation War in cooperation with Germany, but in 1944 he signed the Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement in his personal capacity and resigned, enabling his successor Mannerheim to make peace with the USSR. Convicted to ten years' imprisonment in the post-war war-responsibility trials under Soviet pressure, he was pardoned in 1949 and is remembered in Finland as a leader who sacrificed himself for his country.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1919–1924, 1927–1929Member of Parliament (National Progressive Party)
- 1921–1924Finance Minister
- 1924–1939, 1944–1945Governor of the Bank of Finland
- 1925Presidential candidate, National Progressive Party
- 1939–1940Prime Minister of Finland
- 1940–1944President of Finland
Related historical events
- 1939.11–1940.03The Winter WarWartime prime minister · negotiated the peace treatyTook office as PM after the invasion, led the legitimate government the Soviets refused to recognize, and negotiated the Moscow Peace Treaty of March 1940. Finns remember him as second only to Mannerheim among their wartime leaders.
- 1941–1945The Great Patriotic WarFinnish president cooperating with GermanyHe cooperated with Germany in the Continuation War; a major Soviet offensive placed Finland in crisis in 1944.
The 1944 commitment to Germany and resignation
In June 1944, a major Soviet offensive placed Finland in a military and political crisis. German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop visited Finland, demanded a commitment to continue fighting, and offered military aid. The Finnish government was divided over whether to respond to a Soviet offer to negotiate; Risto Ryti and Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner favored replying, but were in the minority. Under pressure from Mannerheim, Ryti signed a commitment to continue the war in his personal capacity as president rather than seek a parliamentary decision. The commitment enabled German military assistance to continue, and a compromise allowed it to be considered at a meeting of the Council of State. After the military situation stabilized in mid-July, proceedings to replace the president began and Ryti submitted his resignation. In August 1944, parliament appointed Mannerheim president by special law. This episode cannot be explained solely as Ryti's individual choice: Finland's need for German aid, divisions within the government, and Mannerheim's influence all shaped the decision.