Veikko Hursti, a renowned Finnish humanitarian and tireless advocate of the poor and the homeless, died of a sudden illness at his home in Helsinki on Tuesday at the age of 80.
Hursti, who was born on November 25th, 1924, was known for his massive Christmas dinners for the poor that he organised at the Töölö sports arena. Last Christmas the event attracted about 3,000 guests.
An artist by training, Hursti was a recovering alcoholic, who had a strong religious motivation for his activities.
In 1985 he was awarded the Pro Benignitate Humana medal by President Mauno Koivisto.
We will have a more extensive obituary of Veikko Hursti in our weekly section next week.
