Coffin of former Finnish President Mauno Koivisto is moved during the funeral in Hietaniemi cemetery in Helsinki, Finland on May 25. 2017. Former Finnish President Mauno Koivisto was buried with military honors in Helsinki on Thursday. (Xinhua/Matti Matikainen)
HELSINKI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Former Finnish President Mauno Koivisto was buried with military honors in Helsinki on Thursday.
With some one hundred thousand people along the streets watching the hearse procession, the downtown core of Helsinki was heavy with Finnish national symbolism, in sound and vision.
The procession made short stops outside the Bank of Finland and the Presidential Palace. Koivisto was the Governor of the Bank of Finland until he was formally elected to be the Finnish president in 1982.
In his eulogy, the incumbent president Sauli Niinisto underlined continuity in the Finnish post-war foreign policy. Niinisto said that at the end of the Koivisto presidency, Finland was definitely part of Western Europe but maintained at the same time "balanced and equal" relations with the East. That was a good basis to continue to work on, Niinisto said.
Niinisto also mentioned that Koivisto aimed at reducing presidential powers in Finland after the experiences of the long tenure of Koivisto's predecessor Urho Kekkonen.
Niinisto quoted Koivisto as saying that it is better that "the power pyramid stands on its base and not on its top". "Better that major decisions have to be taken by several persons, not just one", Niinisto quoted.
Koivisto came from a humble background, started higher education as an adult after years as a dock worker, gained doctorate and ultimately became president. Niinisto commented that Koivisto knew the nation in all its working roles.
