Kyllikki Pohjala | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Finland Minister of Social Affairs | |
| In office 18 October 1963 – 18 December 1963 | |
| Prime Minister | Ahti Karjalainen |
| Member of the Parliament of Finland | |
| In office 1 September 1933 – 19 February 1962 | |
| Constituency | Turku Province North |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 November 1894 Nakkila, Finland |
| Died | 22 September 1979 (aged 84) Helsinki, Finland |
| Political party | National Coalition Party |
| Education | Columbia University (BS) |
Kyllikki Pohjala (11 November 1894 – 22 September 1979) was a Finnish politician and nurse. She was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1933 to 1962 and served as the minister of social affairs from October to December 1963.
Born in Nakkila, Pohjala was a nurse in the Finnish Civil War and Estonian War of Independence and studied nursing education at Columbia University in the 1920s. After she returned to Finland, she was elected to Parliament in 1933, representing Turku Province North as a member of the National Coalition Party. Pohjala worked on healthcare and welfare issues during her time in Parliament, but grew interested in foreign policy during and after World War II. In the 1950s, she became a Finnish representative in the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the United Nations General Assembly.
In 1962, she was appointed second minister of social affairs by prime minister Ahti Karjalainen, and was promoted to minister of social affairs in October 1963. She drafted legislation that introduced nationwide health insurance in Finland. Pohjala retired in December 1963 when Karjalainen's government disbanded.