List of people from Helsinki

The following are notable people who were either born, raised or have lived for a significant period of time in the city of Helsinki, Finland.

Academics and scientists[]

Lars Ahlfors (1907–1996), mathematician, Fields Medalist
Kai Donner (1888–1935), linguist, anthropologist & politician
Peter Forsskål (1732–1763), Swedish-Finnish naturalist & orientalist
Ragnar Granit (1900–1991), Finnish-Swedish neurophysiologist, Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine (1967)
Elina Haavio-Mannila (born 1933), social scientist & professor
Bengt Holmström (born 1949), Professor of Economics at MIT, Nobel laureate in Economics (2016)
Olli Lehto (born 1925), mathematician
Rolf Nevanlinna (1895–1980), mathematician, university teacher & writer
Gunnar Nordström (1881–1923), theoretical physicist
Jakob Sederholm (1863–1934), petrologist
Artturi Ilmari Virtanen (1895–1973), chemist, Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1945)
Ulla Vuorela (1945–2011), professor of social anthropology

Karl Fazer (1866–1932), baker, confectioner, chocolatier, entrepreneur, & sport shooter
Peter Nygård (born 1941), Finnish-Canadian businessman, arrested in December 2020 for sex crimes
Armi Ratia (1912–1979), textile designer & co-founder of Marimekko
Linus Torvalds (born 1969), software engineer, creator of Linux

Lennart Koskinen (born 1944), Evangelical Lutheran Bishop of Visby (2003–2011)
Samuel Lehtonen (1921–2010), Evangelical Lutheran Bishop of Helsinki (1982–1991)

Paavo Berglund (1929–2012), conductor
Laci Boldemann (1921–1969), composer
Reino Helismaa (1913–1965), writer, film actor & singer
Tuomas Holopainen (born 1976), songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & record producer
Lill Lindfors (born 1940), Finnish-Swedish singer & television presenter
Magnus Lindberg (born 1958), composer & pianist
Georg Malmstén (1902–1981), singer, musician, composer, orchestra director & actor
Tauno Marttinen (1912–2008), composer
Oskar Merikanto (1868–1924), composer
Jari Mäenpää (born 1977), founder, former lead guitarist & current lead singer in melodic death metal band Wintersun, former lead singer & guitarist of folk metal band Ensiferum
Klaus Mäkelä (born 1996), cellist & conductor
Susanna Mälkki (born 1969), conductor
Sakari Oramo (born 1965), principal conductor of BBC Symphony Orchestra
Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928–2016), composer
Kaija Saariaho (born 1952), composer
Esa-Pekka Salonen (born 1958), composer, principal conductor of Philharmonia Orchestra (2008–2021)
Heikki Sarmanto (born 1939), jazz pianist & composer
Agnes Tschetschulin (1859–1942), composer & violinist
Ville Valo (born 1976), lead singer of the rock band HIM
Lauri Ylönen (born 1979), lead singer of the rock band The Rasmus

Tarja Cronberg (born 1943), politician
Tarja Halonen (born 1943), President of Finland (2000–2012)
Johan Helo (1889–1966), lawyer & politician
Abdirahim Hussein Mohamed (born 1978), Finnish-Somalian media personality & politician
Yrjö Leino (1897–1961), communist politician, Minister of the Interior (1946–1948)
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (1867–1951), statesman and Marshal of Finland
Elisabeth Rehn (born 1935), Minister of Defence (1990–1995)
Alexander Stubb (born 1968), Prime Minister of Finland (2014–2015)
Väinö Tanner (1881–1966), Prime Minister of Finland (1926–1927)
Toivo Wiherheimo (1898–1970), economist & politician
Karl Wiik (1883–1946), Social Democratic politician

Helena Anhava (1925-2018), poet, author & translator
Irja Agnes Browallius (1901–1968), Swedish writer
Bo Carpelan (1926–2011), Finnish-Swedish writer, literary critic & translator
Elmer Diktonius (1896–1961), Finnish-Swedish writer & composer
Tove Jansson (1914–2001), Finnish-Swedish writer, painter, cartoonist, author of “Moomins”
Märta Tikkanen (born 1935), Finnish-Swedish writer
Sirkka Turkka (born 1939), poet
Mika Waltari (1908–1979), writer