Monument to Koivisto to be unveiled on Nov 25

A new monument honouring former President Mauno Koivisto will be unveiled on November 25 marking his birth centenary in Pikkuparlamentin puisto (Little Parliament Park) in Helsinki, said a government press release on Tuesday.

With the monument, the government honours Koivisto’s memory and extensive life’s work.

The work, called Välittäjä (The Mediator), was designed and created by sculptor Kirsi Kaulanen, the winner of an open design competition organised by the Prime Minister’s Office in 2021.

The competition was of high artistic standard and received 110 entries. The winner of was selected by an awards committee consisting the Koivisto memorial committee and two artists appointed by the Artists’ Association of Finland.

The Prime Minister’s Office commissioned the winning work Välittäjä from sculptor Kirsi Kaulanen. The value of the contract was EUR 1,035,000. The Prime Minister’s Office will donate the finished work to the art collection of the City of Helsinki. All official monuments to former Finnish presidents are located in Helsinki.

The six-metre-high and fifteen-metre-long stainless steel work stands on both sides of the main pathway leading through Little Parliament Park and invites the viewer to walk through it.

President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will give speeches at the monument unveiling ceremony, which will feature music by Sibelius Upper Secondary School Chamber Choir and The Guards Band.

The ceremony will remain open to the public. The people will be able to take a closer look at the monument starting at 17.40.

The unveiling will continue with an event for invited guests at the Little Parliament building, where Professor Tapio Bergholm will deliver a speech in honour of the centenary of Koivisto.

Mauno Henrik Koivisto was President of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He was a war veteran, a bank manager, a Doctor of Philosophy, Prime Minister and President who led Finland on its path to EU membership.

Koivisto passed away in Helsinki on May 12, 2017. His state funeral was held in Helsinki on 25 May 2017. He is buried at Hietaniemi Cemetery.

Earlier in July, 2023, the City of Helsinki decided to carry out foundation, lighting and park modifications in Pikkuparlamentin puisto park in order to install and place a memorial for late President Mauno Koivisto in the park.