Erkki Tuomioja
![]() |
This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (July 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
Erkki Tuomioja | |
---|---|
Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
In office 22 June 2011 – 28 May 2015 |
|
Prime Minister | Jyrki Katainen Alexander Stubb |
Preceded by | Alexander Stubb |
Succeeded by | Timo Soini |
In office 25 February 2000 – 18 April 2007 |
|
Prime Minister | Paavo Lipponen Anneli Jäätteenmäki Matti Vanhanen |
Preceded by | Tarja Halonen |
Succeeded by | Ilkka Kanerva |
President of the Nordic Council | |
In office 2008–2008 |
|
Preceded by | Dagfinn Høybråten |
Succeeded by | Sinikka Bohlin |
Personal details | |
Born | Helsinki, Finland |
1 July 1946
Political party | Social Democratic Party |
Spouse(s) | Marja Helena Rajala (from 1978) |
Alma mater | University of Helsinki |
Website | Official website |
Erkki Sakari Tuomioja (born 1 July 1946) is a Finnish politician and a member of the Finnish Parliament. From 2000 to 2007 and 2011 to 2015, he served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. He was President of the Nordic Council in 2008.[1]
Tuomioja is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Finland, although his political views are thought to be more to the left than the party line. He is also a member of ATTAC. In the past, Tuomioja has dated the former Finnish president Tarja Halonen.[citation needed]
Tuomioja comes from a family of politicians. His father Sakari Tuomioja was a prominent liberal Finnish politician and diplomat, and the challenger of Urho Kekkonen for the conservatives and liberals in the 1956 presidential elections. His maternal grandmother was Hella Wuolijoki, the Estonian born writer and socialist activist.[2]
Tuomioja holds the degrees of Master of Social Sciences (1971) and Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration (1974) from the Helsinki School of Economics, as well as Licentiate in Social Sciences (1980) and Doctor in Social Sciences (1996) from the University of Helsinki. In addition to Finnish, Tuomioja speaks Swedish, English, French, German and Estonian.[3]
Tuomioja has been a member of the Finnish Parliament 1970–1979 and 1991–present. He held the position of Minister of Trade and Industry in Lipponen's 2nd government, and became the Minister for Foreign Affairs after Tarja Halonen was elected the President of Finland.[4]
Tuomioja, like several other Finnish socialist politicians of today, took part in the illegal occupation of the Old Student House (Vanha ylioppilastalo) in Helsinki on 25 November 1968. He was member of the anti-war group Committee of 100 of Finland and took part in the so-called Erik Schüller case, in which a group of students made public incitement against obligatory conscription. Despite his anti-war stance, Tuomioja did carry out his own mandatory military service and is a reservist staff sergeant.[3]
Tuomioja is the author of several books. His A Delicate Shade of Pink about his grandmother Hella Wuolijoki and her sister Salme Murrik won the Non-Fiction Finlandia Prize in 2006. The book was originally written in English and translated to Finnish as Häivähdys punaista.[2]
Tuomioja is a declared atheist.[5]
EU Presidency[edit]
When Finland held the rotating EU Presidency in the second half of 2006, Tuomioja had a prominent role as the spokesman of European Union foreign policy. He was among the first to demand an immediate cessation of hostilities in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.[citation needed] He was one of Finland's most dominant politicians in the 1990s.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Nordisk Råds tidligere præsidenter — Nordisk samarbeid" (in Norwegian). Norden. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
- ^ a b Tuomioja, Erkki: Häivähdys punaista, s. 374. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Tammi, 2006. ISBN 951-31-3693-0 ISBN 978-951-31-3693-2.
- ^ a b "Tuomioja.org, henkilötiedot". Erkki Tuomioja. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
- ^ "Eduskunta - kansanedustajat". Eduskunta. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
- ^ Tuomas Manninen (2008-01-04). "Ateisti Erkki Tuomioja: Teologit ulos yliopistosta! - Ilta-Sanomat". Iltasanomat. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
External links[edit]
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erkki Tuomioja. |
- Official website (partly in English) at the Finnish parliament
- Personal website
- Finland's EU Presidency
- Video interviews with Erkki Tuomioja
- Speeches and Articles by Dr. Erkki Tuomioja
- Dr. Erkki Tuomioja - The Role of Soft Power in EU Common Foreign Policy
Political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Tarja Halonen |
Minister for Foreign Affairs 2000–2007 |
Succeeded by Ilkka Kanerva |
Preceded by Alexander Stubb |
Minister for Foreign Affairs 2011–2015 |
Succeeded by Timo Soini |
- 1946 births
- Finnish atheists
- Finnish bloggers
- Finnish people of Estonian descent
- Living people
- Members of the Parliament of Finland
- Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Finland
- Politicians from Helsinki
- Social Democratic Party of Finland politicians
- Tieto-Finlandia Award winners
- Children of national leaders
- 21st-century Finnish politicians