Some important and interesting events in the history of Finland from 1906 to 2007

1. Some important and interesting events in the history of Finlandfrom 1906 to 2007

2. 1906: Finnish women were the first in Europe to get the right to vote in general elections • 1917: Finland became an independent state • 1918: Finland was a monarchy for 67 days (King Väinö I from Germany) but Finns chose to be a republic 1918-1925: K.J. Ståhlberg, the first president 1920-1936: Finland was known for its famous sportsmen such as Paavo Nurmi (a long distance runner) 1926: YLE, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, was founded, Jazz music came to Finland

3. 1926: YLE, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, was founded, Jazz music came to Finland 1919-1932: Prohibition: selling, making or drinking alcohol was prohibited 1931: The first Finnish sound film was made 1939: F.E. Sillanpää got the Noble Prize in literature Winter War against the Soviet Union After fighting for 105 days Finns managed to keep the country independent

4. 1939: F.E. Sillanpää got the Noble Prize in literature • Winter War against the Soviet Union • After fighting for 105 days Finns managed to keep the country independent 1941-1944: Continuation War against the Soviet Union • The country remained independent but had to cede large areas to • the Soviet Union in the peace treaty 1945: A.I Virtanen got the Noble Prize in Chemistry 1952: The Olympic Games in Helsinki Coca Cola arrived in Finland Armi Kuusela was chosen the most beautiful woman in the universe

5. 1956-1981: Urho Kekkonen was the president of Finland 1960s: The hippies 1972&1976: Lasse Viren ( a long distance runner) won several gold medals in the Olympic Games 1985: The beginning of the world famous tango festivals in Seinäjoki 1990s: Very bad inflation 1995: Finland joined the EU 2000: Tarja Halonen was elected the first female president in Finland 2002: Finland gave up its own currency Markka for Euro 2006: The Finnish band Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest

6. Tarja Halonen

7. Halonen was appointed President of Finland in 2000 the first time • She was re-elected in 2006 • She is the 11th President of Finland and the first female president • She represented the Social Democratic Party becore becoming president • She is married to Dr Pentti Arajärvi and has one daughter Anna • Her interests include gardening, swimming, theatre, visual arts and art history

8. Mika Häkkinen (1968- F1-driver)

9. Mika Häkkinen is the greatest F1 driver in the Finnish history • He started his career in carting at the age of 15 • His first F1 competition was in Phoenix, USA in 1991 in the team of Lotus-Judd • He moved to McLaren team as a test driver in 1993 • He stayed in McLaren team to the end of his racing career • He won F1 championships in 1998 and 1999 • he left F1 to spend more time with his family • Later he continued in German DTM races in 2005 • During his career he won 20 competitions, got 26 pole positions and 25 fastest laps

10. Armi Kuusela (Miss Universe 1952)

11. She won the Finnish Beauty Queen Contest in 1952 • Kuusela participated in the first-ever Miss Universe contest and was the first winner • In 1953 Armi Kuusela married a Filipino businessman Virgilio Hilario and had five children with him • Her first husband died in 1975 • She is now married to an American diplomat Albert Williams