Editing Mauno Koivisto (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Mauno Koivisto rintamalla jatkosodassa, kuvaaja ja ajankohta tuntematon (33902509753).jpg|thumb|Young Mauno Koivisto was one of soldiers led by legendary [[Lauri Törni]] during the [[Continuation War]].<ref>[https://stoessisheroes.com/meet-the-heroes-finnish-army-captain-lauri-torni/ Meet the Heroes: Finnish Army Captain Lauri Törni]</ref>]]
Koivisto was born in [[Turku]] as the second son of Juho Koivisto, a [[carpenter]] at [[Crichton-Vulcan]] [[shipyard]], and Hymni Sofia Eskola, who died when he was 10. After attending primary school, Koivisto worked a number of jobs, and at the beginning of the [[Winter War]] in 1939 joined a field firefighting unit at the age of 16. During the [[Continuation War]], Koivisto served in the Infantry Detachment Törni led by [[Lauri Törni]], which was a [[reconnaissance]] detachment operating behind enemy lines. This detachment was only open to selected volunteers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bennett|first=Richard M.|title=Elite Forces|date=2003|publisher=Random House|isbn=0-7535-0823-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4JsL8v_sg5wC&q=Lauri+T%C3%B6rni&pg=PT213}}</ref> During the war, he received the [[Order of the Cross of Liberty]] (2nd class) and was promoted to the rank of [[corporal]]. While reflecting on his wartime experiences later in life, he said ''"When you have taken part in a game in which your own life is at stake, all other games are small after that".''<ref name="natbiography">[http://www.kansallisbiografia.fi/english/?id=633 ''Mauno Koivisto'', in The National Biography of Finland, English translation.]</ref>

After the war, he earned a living as a carpenter and became active in [[politics]], joining the [[Social Democratic Party of Finland|Social Democratic Party]]. During his early years, Koivisto was also influenced by [[anarchism]] and [[anarchosyndicalism|anarcho-syndicalism]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.aamulehti.fi/kotimaa/mauno-koiviston-muistelmia-tehtiin-laihan-saludo-kahvin-voimin-kirjoitti-kaiken-kasin-200136096|title=Ensin Mauno Koivisto luimisteli kulmiaan – sitten yhden lauseen myötä alkoi yhteistyö, jonka ansiosta tämä mies tunsi presidentin poikkeuksellisen hyvin|author=Blåfield, Antti|work=Aamulehti|date=14 May 2017|access-date=14 May 2017|language=fi}}</ref> In 1948, he found work at the [[port of Turku]]. In December 1948, he was appointed the manager of the Harbour Labour Office of Turku, a post he held until 1951. In 1949, [[communism|communist-controlled]] [[trade union]]s attempted to topple [[Karl-August Fagerholm|Karl-August Fagerholm's]] [[Fagerholm I Cabinet|social democratic minority government]], and the Social Democratic leadership of the Finnish Confederation of Trade Unions (SAK) declared the port of [[Hanko, Finland|Hanko]] an "open site", urging port workers who supported legality to go there. Koivisto went to Hanko to take charge of the harbour-master's office and recruit workers to break the strike, the government having banned strike action. The Communist newspapers branded Koivisto as their number one enemy due to his status as a major figure in the struggle for control of the trade unions.