Trirreme

Tarja Kaarina Halonen , born the December 24th 1943 with Helsinki, is the social democrat president of Finland since the February 6th 2000, re-elected in January 2006 after having been several times minister since 1987.

Biography

Member of the social democrat Left Finland since 1971, it engaged young person for social justice. After studies of social right to the University of Helsinki, it becomes lawyer E and lawyer trade-union. It is named parliamentary assistant of the Prime Minister between 1974 and 1975.

Its political career starts indeed in 1977 with its election at the municipal council of the capital Helsinki. It does not give up the social militancy: the beginning of the Years 1980, it chairs an defense organization of the rights of the homosexual and lesbians.

She successively was Minister for the social Affairs and Health between 1987 and 1990, Minister for the Justice of 1990 with 1991 and Foreign Minister of 1995 with 2000. Each time, it is the first Finnish woman with being named at this station.

In 2000, it is elected president de Finlande with the Vote for all and becomes the first woman to be reached this station in Finland.

The January 15th 2006, it is presented to the presidential election and arrives at the head at the first turn with 46,3% of the votes (coming very close to absolute majority), followed by the former minister for Finances, the conservative Sauli Niinistö who obtains 24,1% while the center Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen, is classified third with 18,6%. With the second turn, the January 29th, Halonen is re-elected with 51,8% of the votes vis-a-vis Sauli Niinistö.

In 1978, it gives rise to a girl, Anna, with Kari Pekkonen. After a Cohabitation of about fifteen years, she marries her companion Pentti Arajärvi in 2000, with like Anna witnesses and the son of Arajärvi. This family life without Mariage did not pose any problem in the public career of Tarja Halonen; however, the marriage clarified some problems of protocol for the stays abroad of the presidential couple.

In 2006, it is classified like the 44e the most powerful woman in the world by the magazine Forbes. In 2007, it is classified 50e.

See too

List of the current leaders

Fiu-vro: Tarja Halonen Simple: Tarja Halonen

Random links: