Monument to former president Mauno Koivisto to be unveiled on Saturday 25 November

A new monument honouring former President of the Republic Mauno Koivisto will be unveiled on Saturday 25 November 2023, the centenary of former president Koivisto’s birth, in Little Parliament Park in Helsinki. With the monument, the Government honours former president 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 former president Mauno 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.

The unveiling ceremony will be attended by the highest state leaders of Finland. President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will give speeches at the event, which will feature music by Sibelius Upper Secondary School Chamber Choir and The Guards Band.

The unveiling ceremony will begin at 5 pm and is open to the public. The public will be able to take a closer look at the monument starting at around 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 former president Koivisto.

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

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

Inquiries: Tiina-Kaisa Laakso-Liukkonen, Chief Specialist, tel. +358 29 516 0220 and Aapo Riihimäki, Senior Communications Specialist, tel. +358 50 471 3020, Prime Minister’s Office