Professori[1] Ilmari Turja | |
|---|---|
 Ilmari Turja in 1938 | |
| Born | Kaarlo Ilmari Turja (1901-10-28)28 October 1901 |
| Died | 6 January 1998(1998-01-06) (aged 96) Helsinki, Finland |
| Resting place | Kulosaari Cemetery, Helsinki[2] |
| Occupation |
|
| Language | Finnish |
| Education | Master of Laws |
| Alma mater | University of Helsinki |
Ilmari Turja (28 October 1901 – 6 January 1998)[3] was aFinnish writer, best known as a journalist and playwright, with a career spanning nearly eight decades from the 1920s to the 1990s.[1]
Kaarlo Ilmari Turja was born to a farming family inIsokyrö in western central Finland, to Jaakko and Evelina Turja.[4][5] However, when he was four, the Turja family moved to the nearby city ofVaasa, where his father set up in timber trade.[3]
After graduating from secondary school in 1922 and completing his military service,[5] Turja went on to study law at theUniversity of Helsinki, obtaining his law degree in 1929 and qualifying asVaratuomari (Master of Laws with court training, cf.barrister) in 1932.[4][1]
Turja is perhaps best known as the Editor-in-Chief of the weekly news and political commentary magazineSuomen Kuvalehti, which he led from 1936 to 1951.[6] In addition to that, he also held the same post at two other weekly magazines,Kansan Kuvalehti (1929—1934) andUusi Kuvalehti (1952—1963).[6] Collectively, his career of running three notable and influential magazines over a period more than thirty years has been described as "unparalleled" in Finnish journalism.[3]
Afterwards, Turja wrotecolumns for theApu magazine for 27 years, into the early 1990s.[5]
Turja has been credited with introducinginvestigative journalism to Finland, and promoting it throughout his career.[6] He was also a known advocate offreedom of speech.[3]
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Turja's major literary works include:[4]
Johannes Renko remains Turja's only novel. His editor at the time,Mika Waltari, is known to have been unimpressed by the quality of hisprose, and actively encouraged Turja to become a dramatist instead.[3]
Much of his extensivecauserie and column production was also republished in book format as anthology collections, in at least nine separate volumes.[4]
In 1967, Turja was awarded thePro Finlandia [fi] medal of theOrder of the Lion of Finland.[8]
In 1970, the honorary title ofProfessori was conferred on Turja.[4]
He was also recognised with several notable literary and cultural awards.[4][3]
In his student years, Turja was a member of the Finnish nationalistAcademic Karelia Society.[3]
He was married to Sallinée Alanen (m. 1930 — her death in 1993),[5] and they had four children.[4]
During both theWinter andContinuation Wars, Turja served in the military communications corps of theFinnish Army, reaching eventually the rank ofKapteeni (Captain).[3][4][5]
He was a long-time friend of PresidentUrho Kekkonen, whom Turja had first met when publishing Kekkonen's writings (under the pseudonym 'Pekka Peitsi') inSuomen Kuvalehti.[6][3][5]
