Niilo Wälläri was a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 Socialist, syndicalist politician. Wälläri led the Finnish Seamen’s Union from 1938 until his death.

In 1913 Wälläri left Finland to become seaman. In 1916, he settled in the United States and joined the Industrial Workers of the World

Industrial Workers of the World

The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...

. Because of his political activities, Wälläri was deported back to Finland in 1920. Wälläri became active in the underground Communist Party of Finland

Communist Party of Finland

The Communist Party of Finland was a communist political party in Finland. The SKP was a section of Comintern and illegal in Finland until 1944.SKP did not participate in any elections with its own name. Instead, front organisations were used...

 (SKP) and the public Socialist Workers' Party of Finland

Socialist Workers' Party of Finland

Socialist Workers' Party of Finland was a Finnish political party in the early 1920s. The SSTP consisted of radical leftists who split from the Social Democratic Party of Finland after the Finnish Civil War of 1918. The banned Communist Party of Finland was the main force behind the party but...

 (SSTP). Wälläri was chairman of SSTP in 1922–1923 and he was jailed when the party was disbanded. In the late 1920s Wälläri became frustrated with communists. This eventually led to a split in 1929. Wälläri was one of the main organisers behind the short-lived Left Group of Finnish Workers

Left Group of Finnish Workers

Left Group of Finnish Workers was a socialist political party in Finland. The party was active in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The group was founded by activists who had previously cooperated with the Communist Party of Finland . Niilo Wälläri, Eino Pekkala, Erkki Härmä and Kusti Kulo were some...

.

Wälläri joined the Social Democratic Party of Finland

Social Democratic Party of Finland

The Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the three major political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. Jutta Urpilainen is the current SDP leader. The party has been in the Finnish government cabinet for long periods and has set many...

 in 1935. Social Democratic Association of Transport Workers was his stronghold. During the Second World War Soviet Union radioed anti-Wälläri propaganda.

After the war Wälläri left SDP and joined the Finnish People's Democratic League

Finnish People's Democratic League

Finnish People's Democratic League was a Finnish political organisation with the aim of uniting those left of the Finnish Social Democratic Party...

 and the Socialist Unity Party

Socialist Unity Party (Finland)

Socialist Unity Party was a left-wing political party in Finland. The SYP was founded in March 1946 by socialists working inside the communist-dominated Finnish People's Democratic League . Most of the founders were former members of the Social Democratic Party of Finland...

. He became famous as the leader of the seamen's trade union, when he constantly threatened the economy with strikes in order to gain benefits for the union.