Jussi Merinen | |
---|---|
Member of the Parliament of Finland | |
In office 22 May 1907 – 31 July 1908 | |
Constituency | Turku Province North |
Personal details | |
Born | Juho Rikard Mustelin 20 October 1873 Tyrvää, Russian Empire |
Died | 20 April 1918 Tyrvää, Finland | (aged 44)
Political party | Social Democratic Party of Finland |
Occupation | Carpenter |
Juho Rikard Merinen (20 October 1873 – 20 April 1918) was a Finnish trade unionist, politician and member of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he represented Turku Province North between May 1907 and July 1908. [1] He was executed by the White Guard during the Finnish Civil War.
Merinen was born on 20 [a] October 1873 in Tyrvää. [1] [3] He was educated at folk school and Satakunta Agricultural Society's sculpture school. [1] [4] He worked as a carpenter and a farmhand in Tyrvää. [1] [5]
The Stormi Workers' Association (Stormin työväenyhdistystä) was founded in May 1906. [6] Merinen, together with his brother August Merinen and Kalle Tyrvää from Laukula, were the key figures behind the association and Jussi was its first chairman. [6] Merinen was a speaker at the first general crofters meeting (Ensimmäinen yleinen torpparikokous) organised by the Social Democratic Party in 1906. [1] [5] He was elected to the Parliament of Finland at the 1907 parliamentary election. [7] [8] He also contested the 1908, 1913 and 1917 parliamentary elections. [9] [10] [11]
Following the outbreak of the Finnish Civil War, the local branch of the social democrats took over the function of the local municipal council. [6] None of the members of the Stormi Workers' Association met with the local Red delegation nor were they appointed to the institutions set up by delegation. [6] Stormi Workers' Association members weren't Red Guard officers either. [6] Later, the Red Guards established a regional council in Stormi, primarily for civil administration purposes, which included members of the Stormi Workers' Association. [6]
After their victory in the Battle of Karkku in April 1918, most of the leaders of the Stormi Workers' Association were killed by the White Guard. [6] Merinen was executed by the White Guard on 20 April 1918 in Tyrvää. [1] [3] He was buried at Tyrvää Church. [12] In September 2018 a new monument to 527 Reds killed in the civil war, including Merinen, was inaugurated at Tyrvää Church. [13] [14]