Johan Vilhelm Snellman (1806-1881) was a statesman, journalist and philosopher. He was one of the most well-known and contested influential persons of his time. He vehemently pushed forward social programs to make Finnish the spoken language of the educated classes, to create Finnish literature and to improve the school educational system and to make it Finnish.

During the years 1844-1846 Snellman edited his newspaper called "Saima", which became a significant "awakener" of Finnish cultural life. The clear political line of "Saima", provoked many officials, and finally the newspaper was suppressed by censorship. In the 1850's Snellman stopped criticizing society and focused on finding possibilities on how to develop the economy of Finland. Due to the achievements of Snellman, Finland got its own currency in 1860.

In 1863, when Snellman was a senator, he carried through the currency reform, where the Finnish mark was bound to silver, instead of the ruble. In 1867-1868 the rising value of the currency proved to be a heavy for the country, when crop failure caused famine. Snellman demanded strict currency politics and did not yield to take loans from abroad until September 1867. That was already too late. The cargo ships bringing grain to Finland were unable to arrive because the sea had already frozen. The general opinion about Snellman's financial politics finally forced him to resign from his office.

The statue of Snellman is erected in front of the Bank of Finland in Helsinki, on Snellman's Square, between Rauhankatu and Kirkkokatu.

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