TV Viewers Vote Mannerheim as Greatest Finn
Finnish television viewers have voted Finland's wartime military commander, Marshall C.G.E Mannerheim as the "Greatest Finn". Viewers calling in to YLE TV-1 on Sunday night chose President Risto Ryti as the second-greatest, and President Urho Kekkonen came in third.
The ten finalists included General Adolf Ehrnrooth, President Tarja Halonen, pioneering paediatrician Arvo Ylppö, Medieval churchman and pioneer of the Finnish literary language Mikael Agricola, composer Jean Sibelius, writer Aleksis Kivi, and Elias Lönnrot, linguist, doctor, and compiler of the national epic, the Kalevala.
The process for choosing the Greatest Finn began in the spring, with a list of 100 names being narrowed down to ten. Each of the ten had a spokesperson, hosting a half-hour television programme pleading the cause for the nominee.
Programmes with a similar format have been held in various European countries. In the Best of Britain series, Winston Churchill was chosen number one. In Germany, viewers chose Chancellor Konrad Adenauer as their country's best.
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