Tuomas Bryggari facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tuomas Bryggari
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| Member of the Parliament of Finland | |
| In office 5 September 1922 – 21 July 1948 |
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| Constituency | Vaasa Province East |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 December 1881 Jääski, Russian Empire |
| Died | 31 October 1964 (aged 82) Helsinki, Finland |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party of Finland |
| Occupation | Trade unionist |
Tuomas Bryggari (born December 8, 1881 – died October 31, 1964) was an important person in Finland. He was a trade unionist, which means he worked to improve conditions for workers. He was also a politician and served as a member of the Parliament of Finland. This is Finland's main law-making body.
Tuomas Bryggari was part of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. He represented the Vaasa Province East area. He was a Member of Parliament from September 1922 to July 1948. Before he was elected, he was held in prison for his political beliefs after the Finnish Civil War.
Early Life and Work
Tuomas Bryggari was born on December 8, 1881. His birthplace was Jääski, in the south-east part of what was then the Grand Duchy of Finland. His parents were Paavo Bryggari and Maria Himmanen. He went to public school for three years.
Bryggari started working when he was very young. He had many different jobs in his early life. He worked as a farm helper and took care of cattle. He was also a wheelwright, making and repairing wheels. He worked in forests and helped build railways. He was a dockworker and a stonemason in Jääski and Helsinki. One of his jobs was building the Jyväskylä–Pieksämäki railway.
Working for Workers' Rights
Bryggari started working with trade unionism in 1905. Trade unions are groups that help workers get fair pay and good working conditions. Because of his union work, some employers refused to hire him. This is called being blacklisted.
He was a speaker for the Union of Road and Water Construction Workers. He also served on the board of the Helsinki Workers' Association. He was part of the Finnish Stone Workers' Union too. In August 1917, during a big strike in Helsinki, Bryggari led a group of workers. They met with important leaders to share the workers' demands.
In December 1917, Bryggari became a speaker for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the Uusimaa region. After the Finnish Civil War, many people with similar political views were held in prison camps. Bryggari was one of them.
After he was released, he became a secretary for the Finnish Construction Workers' Union in 1919. However, he had to leave when other groups took over the union. From 1920 to 1921, he worked as an organizer, speaker, and teacher for the Finnish Trade Union Federation (SAJ).
In 1930, a strict government in Finland closed down the Construction Workers' Union. This happened because of strong laws against communism. Bryggari then became the leader of a new construction union, which was led by the SDP. This union was also later taken over by other groups, and Bryggari was replaced in 1939.
When the SAJ was also banned in 1930, the SDP created a new group called the Finnish Federation of Trade Unions (SAK). Bryggari was very important in the SAK until 1937.
Political Career
Bryggari was the secretary for the SDP in the Vaasa Province East area from 1921 to 1922. He was first elected to the Parliament of Finland in the 1922 election. He was re-elected many times after that. He served in Parliament until 1948.
Bryggari had a lung disease called silicosis. He got it from his time working as a stonemason. He worked hard to make sure that laws about work-related illnesses helped more people. At first, not many work-related illnesses were officially recognized. But a special group in Parliament found that many illnesses were being hidden. They also found that clinics were very busy with patients who had gotten sick from their jobs.
Bryggari played a big part in creating the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. This institute helps keep workers safe and healthy. He also helped set up a system to inspect workplaces for health and safety.
During the later part of the Continuation War, Bryggari was part of a group that wanted peace. After the war, he supported working more closely with another political group. However, the leaders of his own party disagreed with this idea. Bryggari also helped choose the president in several elections. After he retired from politics, he worked as an inspector. He was also the first leader of a union for pensioners.
Tuomas Bryggari passed away on October 31, 1964, in Helsinki.
Family Life
Tuomas Bryggari was married to Lempi Maria Juhontytär (born Bergman) from 1909 to 1926. They had two daughters named Irja and Aino. After Lempi passed away, he married Ida Wilhelmiina Lumivuokko (born Nieminen) in June 1938.
See also
- List of Finnish MPs imprisoned for political reasons
