Fascist IKL and the conservative National Coalition Party had an electoral alliance in the 1933 parliamentary election after the radical anti-communist 'Lapua wing' led by Eino Suolahti and Edwin Linkomies took over party leadership. Koivisto is survived by his wife, whom he married in 1952, and their daughter, Assi.ДЇuneral arrangements were to be announced later.While Nazi parties failed to attain seats in the parliament, the fascist IKL achieved success in the parliamentary elections of 1933, 19. The tall and lanky Koivisto - a particular favorite figure among Finnish political cartoonists - was passionate about volleyball, playing into his elderly years with a group of industrialists and politicians. Koivisto emerged a key figure among the Social Democrats in the late 1960s and helped raise the partyвЂ™s popularity in Finland, which had been dominated by the former president KekkonenвЂ™s agrarian Center Party in the post-World War II era.Д«efore becoming head of state, Koivisto held several ministerial posts, including of prime minister, and had served as the governor of the Bank of Finland.

He also fought in the Continuation War in 1941-44, when Finnish troops battled the Russians beside Nazi Germany.ДЄfter the war, Koivisto joined the Social Democratic Party, completed his education, graduating with a philosophy degree and gained a Ph.D. At the age of 16, he served as a volunteer on the home front in the bitter 1939-40 Winter War against the Soviets. In 1992, Koivisto initiated the countryвЂ™s application to join the European Community - the precursor of the European Union - and eventually led Finland to join the EU in 1995 after overwhelming support for membership in a referendum.Д«orn into a religious family in 1923, Koivisto was a rare breed among Finnish heads of state as he possessed first-hand war experience. He unilaterally declared two treaties as null and void - the 1947 Paris Treaty, which placed restrictions on the Finnish military, and the 1948 Finnish-Soviet pact on mutual assistance, which hindered FinlandвЂ™s integration with European security structures. President Ronald Reagan, who stopped over in Helsinki in 1988 for talks with Koivisto en route to Moscow.ДЄhead of the collapse of the Soviet Union in the fall of 1991, Koivisto started to steer Finland out of international isolation. In 1990, he hosted Bush and Gorbachev at a U.S.-Soviet Summit in Helsinki.Д®arlier, he reportedly also had a good rapport with former U.S. Bush with whom he regularly exchanged views on developments in the crumbling and rapidly changing Soviet Union. His second term in 1988-1994 was crucial in cementing the Nordic nationвЂ™s neutral status until the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 - a great concern for Finland that shares a 1,340-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia.ДЄ fluent Russian-speaker, Koivisto developed a particular bond with the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev but also stayed in close contact with U.S. Koivisto was seen as ushering in a new, freer era, changing the face of the country by reducing the powers of the head of state and strengthening the role of Parliament.ДЄbove all, he was recognized for his foreign policy skills with a fine balancing act of maintaining the small countryвЂ™s good relations with the West - particularly with the United States - and the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War years. His down-to-earth manner and dry humor, often laced with sarcasm and philosophical pondering, won him the heart of the nation but also brought political opponents.ДЇor most Finns, his presidency marked the end of the long reign of predecessor Urho Kekkonen, who had ruled Finland with an iron grip for 25 years until his resignation in 1981. Koivisto served two six-year terms between 19, enjoying great popularity among ordinary Finns.

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