Matti Taneli Vanhanen (born November 4, 1955) is the current
Prime Minister of FinlandThe Prime Minister is the Head of Government of Finland. The Prime Minister is currently married to the president, and is appointed by the President, who is the Head of State...
, as well as Chairman of the Keskusta (Centre Party of Finland). In the second half of 2006 he was
President of the European CouncilThe President of the European Council is a position in the European Union that chairs the European Council. At present it is an unofficial low key position which rotates between member states every six months.Under the proposed Treaty of Lisbon, this system would be replaced by a permanent post...
. He is a journalist by profession.
Career
Vanhanen was born in
JyväskyläJyväskylä is a city and municipality located in Central Finland, north-east of Tampere and north of Helsinki, near the lakes Päijänne and Keitele. It is the center of the Jyväskylä sub-region...
, the son of professor
Tatu VanhanenTatu Vanhanen is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland. Vanhanen is a co-author of IQ and the Wealth of Nations and IQ and Global Inequality , and author of Ethnic Conflicts Explained by Ethnic Nepotism and many other works...
, co-author of
IQ and the Wealth of NationsIQ and the Wealth of Nations is a controversial 2002 book by Dr. Richard Lynn, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, and Dr. Tatu Vanhanen, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland...
, and Anni Tiihonen.
He read
political sciencePolitical science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. It is often described as the pragmatic application of the art and science of politics defined as "who gets what, when and how",...
at the
University of HelsinkiThe University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, then part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
, graduating as a Master of Social Sciences in 1989 . He was chairman of the Centre Party Youth League from 1980 to 1983. He also served as a member of the
EspooEspoo ) is a city and municipality of Finland. With a population of approximately it is the second most populated city in Finland. It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while...
city council from 1981 to 1984. Vanhanen is a journalist by profession; he worked on the local newspaper
Kehäsanomat as an editor (1985–1988) and editor-in-chief (1988–1991). In his column in
Suomenmaa, he strongly condemned the
Baltic Star pro-Estonian independence demonstration held in Helsinki in July 1985, calling the demonstration "provocative"..
Vanhanen was elected to the
Finnish Parliament (Eduskunta)The Eduskunta , or the Riksdag , is the Parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and meets in Parliament House in Helsinki.- Constitution :...
in 1991. As a member of Parliament he was interested in ecological issues. For instance, Vanhanen spoke against the building of a fifth nuclear power plant in 1992, at the same time as serving on the board of electricity corporation
FortumFortum Oyj is a Finnish publicly listed energy company, which focuses on the Nordic and Baltic countries, Poland and the north-west of Russia. The head of the company is Tapio Kuula, President and CEO. Fortum operates and maintains power plants and provides other energy related services...
. He served on the Parliamentary Environment Committee 1991–1995, and was chair of the Parliamentary Grand Committee 2000-2001. He was vice-chair of the Centre Party Parliamentary group 1994–2001, and Deputy Chairman of the Centre Party 2000–2003.
Another important topic for Vanhanen was
Finland's foreign and security policyThe foreign relations of Finland are in the responsibility of President of Finland, who leads foreign policy in cooperation with the government. Implicitly the government is responsible for internal policy and decisionmaking in the European Union...
. As a specialist on the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
he was a member of the European Union Constitutional Convention. There he criticized the president of the convention, former French president
Valéry Giscard d'EstaingValéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
, as authoritarian. Vanhanen has said
http://www.suomenkuvalehti.fi/?id=5835 that he is unenthusiastic about European co-operation, and that he is an "EU pragmatist", so he may be considered a
euroscepticEuroscepticism is a general term used to describe opposition and criticism of the European Union , and the process of European integration...
, especially when compared to his EU-enthusiast predecessor
Paavo LipponenPaavo Tapio Lipponen is a Finnish politician and former reporter. He was Prime Minister of Finland from 1995 to 2003 , and Chairman of the Finnish Social Democratic Party from 1993 to 2005...
.
Vanhanen's first cabinet
Vanhanen resigned from the Constitutional Convention in 2003 when he became Minister of Defense in the cabinet of Prime Minister
Anneli JäätteenmäkiAnneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki, Master of Laws was the first female Prime Minister of Finland, in office from April 17, 2003 to June 24, 2003....
. After Jäätteenmäki's resignation, Vanhanen
was elected Prime MinisterMatti Vanhanen's cabinet was the 69th cabinet of Finland. The previous cabinet, Anneli Jäätteenmäki's Cabinet lasted only for 69 days, and it fell because of the Iraq-gate scandal....
and
his first cabinetMatti Vanhanen's cabinet was the 69th cabinet of Finland. The previous cabinet, Anneli Jäätteenmäki's Cabinet lasted only for 69 days, and it fell because of the Iraq-gate scandal....
was formed.
As a politician, Vanhanen is considered to be part of the liberal wing of the old agrarian Central Party, along with the two other Party ministers from
Uusimaa regionUusimaa, or Nyland in Swedish , is a region in Southern Finland province. It borders the regions Finland Proper, Tavastia Proper, Päijänne Tavastia and Eastern Uusimaa...
. His government cut the top state income tax rate from 35.5% to 33.5% in 2005 and 32.5% in 2006 (resulting in approximately 55% total tax rate after local government and social security taxes). The corporate tax rate was also lowered to 26% and capital gains to 28% (both formerly 29%), though at the same time dividends were partially made taxable. Vanhanen has said he is willing to continue tax cuts.
Presidential candidate
As the
Centre PartyThe Centre Party is a centrist political party in Finland. It is one of the three largest political parties in the country, along with the Social Democrats and the National Coalition Party...
candidate, Vanhanen challenged
PresidentThe President of Finland is the Head of State of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since 1991, no...
Tarja HalonenTarja Kaarina Halonen is the 11th and current President of Finland. The first female to hold the office, Halonen had previously been a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 when she resigned after her election to the presidency...
in the 2006
Finnish presidential electionThe Finnish Presidential election of 2006 saw the re-election of Tarja Halonen as President of Finland for a second six-year term.The first round of voting in Finnish presidential elections always takes place on the third Sunday of January, in this case 15 January 2006...
. He received 18.6% of the vote, coming third to the
National Coalition Party'sThe National Coalition Party is a liberal conservative political party in Finland founded in 1918....
Sauli NiinistöSauli Väinämö Niinistö is the Speaker of the Parliament of Finland . A lawyer by training, he is a former Finnish finance minister and was the National Coalition Party candidate in the 2006 presidential election....
(24.1%) and
Social DemocratThe Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the most influential political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. It has been in the Cabinet for long periods of time, the last time in 1995–2007, and has set many fundamental policies of the Finnish...
and incumbent
Tarja HalonenTarja Kaarina Halonen is the 11th and current President of Finland. The first female to hold the office, Halonen had previously been a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 when she resigned after her election to the presidency...
(46.3%), and thus did not qualify for the runoff. Vanhanen expressed his support for Niinistö in the runoff election against his coalition partner's candidate Halonen.
The presidential election, and cooperation between Centre Party and National Coalition Party, proved to be a major strain on the government coalition between the Centre Party and Social Democrats. The flashpoint came in March, when the Centre Party demanded national
agricultural subsidiesAn agricultural subsidy is a governmental subsidy paid to farmers and agribusinesses to supplement their income, manage the supply of agricultural commodities, and influence the cost and supply of such commodities...
to cover farmers' losses when the Finnish exception in the European Union's
Common Agricultural PolicyThe Common Agricultural Policy is a system of European Union agricultural subsidies and programs. It represents 48% of the EU's budget, €49.8 billion in 2006 ....
was about to expire. At the end of the crisis Vanhanen told his parliamentary group that taxpayers would cover ninety percent or about 100 million euros in losses.
Vanhanen's second cabinet
After the
March 2007 electionThe 2007 Finnish parliamentary election was held on March 18 2007. Early voting was possible from the 7–13 March. Two hundred MPs were elected from 15 constituencies....
the Centre Party narrowly remained the largest party after losing four seats. However their coalition partner, the
SDPThe Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the most influential political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. It has been in the Cabinet for long periods of time, the last time in 1995–2007, and has set many fundamental policies of the Finnish...
, lost eight seats and the centre-right
National Coalition PartyThe National Coalition Party is a liberal conservative political party in Finland founded in 1918....
gained ten.
Vanhanen's second cabinetMatti Vanhanen's second cabinet is the 70th cabinet of Finland. The cabinet is a centre-right/green coalition, consisting of four parties: the Centre Party Matti Vanhanen's second cabinet (April 2007- ) is the 70th cabinet of Finland. The cabinet is a centre-right/green coalition, consisting of...
was formed on a centre-right basis, with minor partners the
Green LeagueThe Green League , is a green political party in Finland. The current chairperson is Anni Sinnemäki.-History:...
and the
Swedish People's PartyThe Swedish Peoples' Party is a Swedish-speaking minority and mainly liberal party in Finland. The party is a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.-History and electorate:...
.
A scandal involving Vanhanen's second cabinet began rolling in May 2008, after the leader of the Centre Party's parliamentary group
Timo KalliTimo Juhani Kalli is a Finnish politician from the Centre Party. He is a farmer.He has been a member of the parliament since 1991 and hold the position of the speaker of the parliament for a short term in 2007 following the general elections...
said publicly that he would not reveal information about his
campaign financeCampaign finance refers to the fundraising and spending that political campaigns do in their election races. As campaigns have many expenditures, ranging from the cost of travel for the candidate and others to the purchasing of air time for TV advertisements, candidates often devote substantial...
s, because such disclosure was not required. After a media backlash, Kalli gave up his secrecy and listed a group of businessmen known as "Kehittyvien maakuntien Suomi" (KMS; in English, "The Finland of Developing Provinces"), who had financed the Centre Party. Centre Party links with KMS were suspected, as one address of the organisation belonged to a party official. It was later revealed that the organisation had been formed in the Centre Party's general secretary's office.
After the Russian response to the Georgian invasion of South Ossetia, Vanhanen said that Finland would rethink its security.
Vanhanen has proposed raising the retirement age from the current 63 to 65, which is typical in Europe. His proposal was fiercely opposed by the
Central Organisation of Finnish Trade UnionsThe Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, usually referred to by the acronym SAK is the biggest trade union confederation in Finland...
(Finnish acronym SAK), which is affiliated with the SDP.
Personality
Vanhanen has been characterised as
uncharismaticThe word charisma refers to a trait found in persons whose personalities are characterized by a personal charm and magnetism , along with innate and powerfully sophisticated abilities of interpersonal communication and persuasion...
and even boring, which he has attempted to turn to his advantage in tense political situations. Vanhanen is known for being a
teetotalerTeetotalism is the practice and promotion of complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages. A person who practices teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller or is simply said to be teetotal.Some common reasons for choosing teetotalism are religious, health, family, philosophical, fear of...
, saying that he does not like the taste of alcohol. He rarely smiles in public. He has been quoted as denying ever taking advice from other persons.
Matti Vanhanen was against the democratic independence movement in the Baltic States during 1980s and supported the communist rule as briefly mentioned above. According to an article by Matti Vanhanen, the differences between
capitalismCapitalism is an economic and social system in which the means of production are privately controlled; labor, goods and capital are traded in a market; profits are distributed to owners or invested in technologies and industries; and wages are paid to labor...
and
socialismSocialism refers to various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on...
were insignificant for the history of the
Baltic countriesThe Baltic states , Baltic Nations or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the European Union: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania...
and the aspirations for independence and the wishes to change the Soviet system showed an indifference towards the post Second World War reality. For Matti Vanhanen, such attempts were inconsistent with
FinnishFinnish refers to something or someone from, or related to, Finland, such as:* Culture of Finland* Finnish people, the primary ethnic group in Finland* The Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people* Finnish cuisine...
interests and thus he advocated against allowing any demonstrations to take place in Finland in support of Baltic
independenceIndependence is the self-government of a nation, country, or state by its residents and population, or some portion thereof, generally exercising sovereignty....
and
democracyDemocracy is a system of government in which either the actual governing is carried out by the people governed , or the power to do so is granted by them...
. According to one commentator, Matti Vanhanen was trying to prevent the independence of Estonia prior to the 1990s.
In 2009, he visited the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
and credited the government for being
systematicSystematic was a rock band from San Jose, California.The band was one of the first signings to Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich's record label, The Music Company . Their first album Somewhere in Between came out in 2001 and reached #143 in Billboard album chart. Systematic toured with Ozzfest the same...
, as well as being able to place clear priorities and to mobilise the required resources to accomplish them. In his opinion, the
Western worldThe Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term that can have multiple meanings depending on its context...
ought to note the example of China, where policies are implemented rapidly and effectively. He said he was impressed of the progress the country has made in dealing with difficult issues.
Vanhanen married Merja Vanhanen in 1985. They have two children: Annastiina (born 1991) and Juhana (born 1994). Matti Vanhanen and Merja Vanhanen unexpectedly announced their divorce on 6 April 2005, which had political repercussions for the self-styled family man.
Later there were claims in the tabloid press of affairs during and after his marriage. After his divorce,
Susan KuronenSusan Kristiina Kuronen, currently Susan Kristiina Ruusunen, born , is a divorced mother from Finland who had a relationship with Finland's prime minister, Matti Vanhanen. The couple had met via an Internet dating service. The relationship lasted less than a year and ended in 2006, reportedly by...
(she later changed her last name to Ruusunen) was widely linked to Vanhanen but their relationship broke down. In February 2007, Kuronen released a tell-all book
The Prime Minister's Bride, which actually boosted the prime minister's popularity with the public. Tens of thousands of Finns signed an online petition against the book and some bookstores refused to put it on the shelf. Vanhanen sued Kuronen for invasion of privacy in March 2007, following the March elections. The court dismissed all charges against Kuronen about a year later but Vanhanen stated that he was unsatisfied with the outcome and would continue the case in higher courts.
Since ending his dating relationship with Kuronen (Ruusunen), Vanhanen has been dating Sirkka Mertala (see, for example, Vanhanen's Finnish-language Wikipedia biography and the websites of the Finnish daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, and of the Finnish evening tabloids Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti).
In a 2006 book commissioned for the presidential elections,
Se on ihan Matti, Vanhanen compared the Finnish tabloid press to the
KGBThe KGB was the national security agency of the USSR. From 1954 until 1991, the Committee for State Security was the Communist state's premier secret police, internal security, and espionage organization, whose coat of arms—the Shield and the Sword—illustrate a national military hierarchy...
and
StasiThe Ministry for State Security, The Ministry for State Security, The Ministry for State Security, (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit, commonly known as the Stasi [ˈʃtazi] (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official secret police of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered in...
, former
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
and East German secret police agencies .
During the
ASEMThe Asia-Europe Meeting was officially established in 1996 at the first summit in Bangkok. ASEM is an interregional forum which consists of the European Commission, the twenty-seven members of the European Union , the thirteen members of the ASEAN Plus Three regional grouping, and, as of 2008,...
2006 meeting in
HelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the southern part of Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, by the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it the most populous municipality in Finland by a wide margin...
, French president
Jacques ChiracJacques René Chirac served as the President of France from 17 May 1995 until 16 May 2007. As President he also served as an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the French Légion d'honneur. Chirac was the second-longest serving President of France , behind François Mitterrand...
described Vanhanen, perhaps jokingly, as "the sexiest man in Finland".
Vanhanen is about 6'6" (198cm).
He is also
left-handedLeft-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. Most left-handed people exhibit some degree of ambidexterity...
http://www.hs.fi/english/picture/1101981916452.
He attended the
Bilderberg GroupThe Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, or Bilderberg Club is an unofficial, annual, invitation-only conference of around 130 guests, most of whom are persons of great influence in the fields of politics, business, banking, and media....
meeting in 2009.
External links
Official site
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