Emmi Mäkelin

Emma "Emmi" Serafia Mäkelin (1 April 1874 – 6 August 1962) was a Finnish midwife and politician who served in the Parliament of Finland from 1922 until 1923. A member of the communist Socialist Workers' Party of Finland, she represented the western portion of the Kuopio Province.

Emmi Mäkelin MP
Member of Parliament for Kuopio Province
In office 5 September 1922 – 17 October 1923
Personal details
Born	Emma Serafia Lindeman (1874-04-01)1 April 1874 Lappi, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire
Died	6 August 1962(1962-08-06) (aged 88) Jyväskylä, Finland
Political party	SSTP
Spouse	Antti Mäkelin [fi] ​ ​ (m. 1901)​
Children	3

Biography

Emma Serafia Mäkelin was born on 1 April 1874, in the town of Lappi, Finland, then part of the Russian Empire. Her father, Karl Fredrik Lindeman, was a construction foreman. She received a secondary school education, and became a certified midwife in 1904. She worked as a midwife in the central city of Kuopio from 1904 until 1931.^[1][2]

Following Finland's independence from Russia in 1917, Mäkelin became involved in the politics of the new nation. She joined the communist Socialist Workers' Party of Finland (SSTP), and was elected to the Kuopo City Council in 1918.^[1][3] She was also a member of the Social Democratic Women's Union of Finland [fi], though she left the organization in 1920 following a split between the communists and social democrats.^[4][5] In the 1922 Finnish parliamentary election, Mäkelin was elected to the Parliament of Finland, representing the western portion of the Kuopio Province.^[1][6] Mäkelin was one of six female SSTP MPs, and was the most educated and oldest of the group.^[7]

Later in 1922, Mäkelin was part of a group of 25 communist MPs who proposed the creation of a new Finnish Socialist Soviet Republic.^{[8][better source needed]} She was arrested in August 1923 during a crackdown on communists [fi], though she was released the following year.^[6][9] In October 1923, while imprisoned, she was expelled from parliament. Mäkelin continued working as a midwife after retiring from politics. She died on 6 August 1962 in Jyväskylä.^[1]

References

1. "Emmi Mäkelin". Parliament of Finland (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-04-01.
2. "Emmi Mäkelin". Parliament of Finland. Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
3. "Kuopion kunnalliswaa lien tulos" [The Result of the Kuopio Municipal Elections]. Savo [fi] (in Finnish). December 31, 1918. p. 2. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
4. "Sos.-dem. Naisliiton IX Edustajakokouksen Pöytäkirja" [Sos.-dem. Minutes of the IX Representative Meeting of the Women's Association]. Työväen Arkisto [fi] (in Finnish). December 7, 1919. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
5. Lähteenmäki, Maria (2000). Vuosisadan naisliike: naiset ja sosialidemokratia 1900-luvun Suomessa [Women's Movement of the Century: Women and Social Democracy in 20th Century Finland] (in Finnish). Helsinki: Hakapaino Oy. pp. 110–111. ISBN 978-952-91-2315-5.
6. "Jakautuneet yhteisöt" [Divided Communities]. Savon Historia (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-04-01.
7. Katainen, Elina (2013). Vapaus, Tasa-arvo, Toverillinen Rakkaus: Perheen, Kotitalouden Ja Avioliiton Politisointi Suomalaisessa Kommunistisessa Liikkeessä Ennen Vuotta 1930 [Freedom, Equality, Comradely Love: the Politicization of Family, Household and Marriage in the Finnish Communist Movement Before 1930] (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Hansaprint. pp. 131–132. ISBN 978-952-5976-10-6. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
8. "Esitys Kommunisti-Suomesta" [A Presentation about Communist Finland]. Suomi24 (in Finnish). 2005-09-10. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
9. "Kommunistien fuur juttu Turun hovioikeudessa" [Communists' Furor in the Turku Court of Appeal]. Kansan Lehti (in Finnish). February 5, 1924. p. 3. Retrieved April 1, 2023.