Introduction
Antti Verner Hackzell (September 20, 1881 – January 14, 1946) was a Finnish politician from the National Coalition Party and Prime Minister of Finland in 1944.
Career
Hackzell was the Governor of Viborg Province (1918–1920), the ambassador of Finland to the Soviet Union (1922–1927) and served as the deputy director (1930–1936) and director (1936–1945) of Finnish Employers Association. Hackzell was also the Minister of Foreign Affairs 1932-1936 in the cabinet of Toivo Kivimäki.
In summer 1944 Hackzell was chosen to form a government with the goal of signing a peace treaty with Soviet Union. Hackzell suffered a stroke while on peace treaty negotiations in Moscow on 14 September, and he never recovered completely. His minister of foreign affairs, Carl Enckell, concluded the negotiations.
Family origins
The Hackzell family name derives from the Hacksta family estate, located in Hacksta, Uppland in Sweden. Through Mårten Hackzell, the only child of the Uppland clergyman Andreas Hackzelius, and through Mårten's offspring, the Hackzell family spread to Norrland and Finland.