Risto Ryti

Ryti, Risto (1889–1956),Finnish politician who was governor of the Bank of Finland from 1923 to 1940. He spoke out for strong resistance when the USSR invaded his country in November 1939 (see Finnish–Soviet war), and when President Kyösti Kallio (1873–1940) died in December 1940 Ryti was given an overwhelming vote to succeed him. He subsequently allied Finland with Germany, declaring war on the USSR in June 1941. Although he was re-elected in 1943, the defeat of the Finnish Army forced his resignation in August 1944 and he was succeeded by Marshal Mannerheim. He returned to the Bank of Finland but when Germany surrendered he resigned. In 1946 he was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment as a war criminal but was released in 1949.

Risto Ryti , 1889-1956, Finnish political leader. In 1919 he was elected to the Finnish diet. He later served as minister of finance (1921-24) and as governor of the Bank of Finland (1923-44), winning admiration for improving the country's international credit despite its war debt and the effects of the depression. Prime minister during the Russo-Finnish War of 1939 and 1940, he became president of Finland in late 1940. Ryti's alliance with Germany against the Soviet Union in World War II resulted in his resignation in 1944 after Finland's defeat. The following year, in a Soviet-sponsored trial, he was convicted as a war criminal. In 1949, Ryti's 10-year sentence was commuted because of his deteriorating health.