Pentti Holappa

Pentti Vihtori Holappa (11 August 1927 – 10 October 2017) was a Finnish poet, writer and politician.

[1] Born in Ylikiiminki to a relatively poor family of modest means, he held numerous jobs before becoming a political journalist and eventually obtaining a government post.

[2] He was self-educated, but produced around fifteen volumes of poetry, as well as several novels and essays.

He received the Finlandia Prize in 1998 for his novel Ystävän muotokuva: Portrait of a Friend.

Between February and October 1972, Holappa was Minister of Culture and Education in the Paasio II Cabinet representing the Social Democratic Party of Finland.