Herman Gummerus Finnish right-wing politician, diplomat. Date of Birth: 24.12.1877 Country: Finland

Biography of Herman Gummerus

Herman Gummerus was a Finnish right-wing politician and diplomat. He was born in 1877 in St. Petersburg, Russia, to a family of Finnish Swedes. Gummerus worked as a professor at the University of Helsinki from 1911 to 1920 and again from 1926 to 1947. He was a strong advocate for Finland's independence and was arrested in 1904 for his beliefs.

During World War I, Gummerus collaborated with the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and worked in the Finnish bureau of Fritz Wetterhov in Stockholm. He also collaborated with Finnish and Baltic nationalists, as well as Ukrainian revolutionaries, including Alexander Kesküla.

After Finland gained independence in 1918, Gummerus opened the Finnish mission in Kiev. From 1920 to 1925, he served as the Finnish ambassador to Rome, where he admired the growing fascist movement. In 1925, he returned to Finland and became one of the founders of the right-wing Patriotic People's Movement (IKL).