His presidency included leading the country through the Winter War;[2] while he relinquished the post of commander-in-chief to Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, he played a role as a spiritual leader.

[3][4] During his political career, he also served as a five-time Minister of Agriculture for most of the period between 1917 and 1922, including in the Independence Senate and the Civil War-era White cabinet, led a 1922 land reform to aid tenant farmers in acquiring their own land, and was a candidate in the 1931 presidential election before defeating incumbent president Pehr Evind Svinhufvud in the subsequent elections of 1937.

Most of his time was spent trying to mediate the agrarian strikes and finding foodstuffs for the country, while the First World War raised the prices in Europe.

Nonetheless, the socialist proposal passed, which the Russian Provisional Government saw as an affront to their power; and Alexander Kerensky consequently dissolved the Finnish Parliament on September 8.

After the October Revolution, the Finnish bourgeoisie were willing to compromise and give parliament the highest authority fearing Bolshevik rule would spread to Finland.

On the eve of the Winter War, when Marshal Mannerheim once again threatened to resign from his post as chairman of Finland's Defence Council due to a schism with the cabinet, Kallio convinced him to stay.

During the war Kallio resisted the idea of giving up any territory to the Soviet Union, but was forced to agree to sign the Moscow Peace Treaty in 1940.

He was planning to leave the capital and retire to his farm at Nivala after the farewell ceremonies on the evening of 19 December 1940; but he collapsed and died that night at the Helsinki Central Railway Station in the arms of his adjutant before a guard of honour while a band played the patriotic Finnish march Porilaisten marssi.

In reality, Kallio died in the arms of his adjutant Aladár Paasonen[16] and colonel A. F. Airo[citation needed].

Although Kallio was often too busy to go to church, he prayed often when encountering difficulties in making political decisions, and some of these prayers he recorded in his diary.

In the Presidential Palace, shortly before leaving for Helsinki Central Railway Station for the last time, Kallio sang a hymn with his family.

When Kallio became president, the largest change in the presidential palace in Finland was the complete stop of serving alcoholic beverages in all events.

[19]: 121 When a condolence petition was being assembled in Nivala in 1904 in memory of the recently assassinated governor-general Nikolay Bobrikov, Kallio snatched the paper from the hand of the petitioner, tore it into pieces in front of him and threw it into the fire.

[5] Kallio was played by Ossi Ahlapuro in the 2001 television film Valtapeliä elokuussa 1940, directed by Veli-Matti Saikkonen.