Tom Ölander (17 August 1945 - 26 August 2002) was one of the main actors to kick-start an active fannish culture in Finland.^[1] He was the prime mover for the second Finnish sf convention King Con in 1989, with the assistance of a boat load of Swedish imports, and regularized the tradition of convention holding by working to institute the biannual Finncon tradition.^[2] For these efforts he is domestically known as the "father of Finnish Fandom",^[3] and internationally as "Finland's Mr. Science Fiction".^{[citation needed]} In recognition of his significant role in the Finnish science fiction fandom, Ölander was a Guest of Honor of Finncon 1989.^[3]

Besides his local efforts, often worked behind the scenes, his great passion was bridge-building between far-flung corners of international fandom.^[4]

Together with Jari Koponen, Olavi Markkanen and Jyrki Ijäs, he formed the editorial board of the first Finnish nationwide science fiction magazine, Aikakone, started in 1981.^[5]