Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (3 September 1900–31 August 1986), was a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland (1950–1953, 1954–1956) and later as the eighth President of Finland (1956–1982). Kekkonen continued the “active neutrality” policy of his predecessor President Juho Kusti Paasikivi, a doctrine which came to be known as the “Paasikivi–Kekkonen line”. Under it, Finland retained its independence while being able to trade with both NATO members and those of the Warsaw Pact.
