Anneli Jäätteenmäki
Encyclopedia
Anneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki, Master of Laws (born 11 February 1955 in Lapua
) was the first female Prime Minister of Finland
, in office from 17 April 2003 to 24 June 2003.
She worked as a lawyer from 1981 until 1987, when she was elected to the Finnish Parliament (Eduskunta)
. Jäätteenmäki was Minister of Justice
from 1994 to 1995. She was chairwoman of the Centre Party of Finland from 18 June 2000 to 5 October 2003, although the first year was as acting leader during Esko Aho
's sabbatical leave to lecture at Harvard University
.
, in the parliamentary elections
of 2003. According to the new constitution, which was in effect for the first time after this election, she was thereby given the first opportunity to form a new Cabinet
. After successful coalition negotiations with the Social Democrats and the Swedish People's Party, she came to head a coalition cabinet which chiefly continued on the lines of its predecessor, Paavo Lipponen's second Cabinet
, but introduced new measures to stimulate the economy, including tax cuts.
During her brief time in office, Finland was the only country in the world to have women as both prime minister
and president
, a situation underlined by the fact that half of her cabinet were women.
Anneli Jäätteenmäki's short term as Prime Minister of Finland is, however, not the shortest in the history of Finland. Beside caretaker cabinets and temporary prime ministers appointed due to the death or disease of the predecessor, Juho Heikki Vennola headed a Cabinet which lasted only for a little more than a month February-March 1931, in connection with the Lapua Movement
's vociferous anti-democratic demands for influence on the presidential election.
and Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen
about Finland's position regarding the Iraq war
. Jäätteenmäki used the information to suggest that her rival, the Social Democrat leader Paavo Lipponen, had secretly offered Finnish support for the U.S.-led coalition, a substantial breach against the official policy of neutrality in Finland's foreign politics
, and thus associated Finland with what many Finns considered an illegal war of aggression
. Jäätteenmäki broke the traditional unity and silence behind Finland's security policies. As the elections turned out to be close, the defeated Social Democrats found reasons to suspect that her nontraditional campaign was decisive for the outcome, which soured the relationship between the two major coalition partners.
After the leaked documents were published in several newspapers in March, the police launched a criminal investigation based on the Official Secrets Act. On 11 June prime Minister Jäätteenmäki was heard as a witness by the police, which led to increasing pressure on her to come clean on her role in the leak. The same week, the incriminating minutes of a meeting of Centre Party leaders were leaked to the press, as later came clear, via the Centre Party second vice-chairman Hannu Takkula
. On 16 June it came to light that a presidential aide, Martti Manninen, affiliated with the Centre Party, had leaked the Foreign Ministry documents. On 18 June Jäätteenmäki gave her "full explanation" to Parliament and apologised to the President, claiming that she had been faxed the documents without asking for them, and that she had not known of their secrecy. The Parliament was not satisfied with her account, and once Manninen on the same afternoon publicly claimed that Jäätteenmäki had specifically and forcefully asked for the information, and that he would be able to prove it, her coalition partners made it clear that they had no trust in her leadership. She resigned the same evening, citing the lack of political trust, and without admitting any wrongdoing.
Consequently, she announced on 24 June that she would resign as leader of the Centre Party. Matti Vanhanen
was elected as the new party leader on 5 October and he succeeded her as Prime Minister.
The police investigation into the leak concluded on 19 December 2003 that Mrs. Jäätteenmäki should be prosecuted for aiding or abetting Manninen in revealing state secrets in contravention of the law. However, on 19 March 2004 the Helsinki District Court acquitted Jäätteenmäki on all counts.
for the Centre Party
in the European Parliament
. In the 2004 European Parliament elections
, she received over 140,000 votes, the highest individual tally and approximately 8% of all votes cast.
In April 2006, Anneli Jäätteenmäki announced to the Finnish media that she was going to take some time out of her parliamentary work due to breast cancer
, but she returned to politics following her successful recovery. Despite offers to return to Finnish national politics, she declined to become a candidate in the Finnish Parliament elections in 2007
. She was reelected to the European Parliament in the 2009 European Parliament elections
with the second highest tally of votes in Finland after Timo Soini
.
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Lapua
Lapua is a town and municipality of Finland.It is located next to the Lapua River in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water...
) was the first female Prime Minister of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, in office from 17 April 2003 to 24 June 2003.
She worked as a lawyer from 1981 until 1987, when she was elected to the Finnish Parliament (Eduskunta)
Parliament of Finland
The Eduskunta , is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and meets in the Parliament House in Helsinki. The latest election to the parliament took place on April 17, 2011.- Constitution :...
. Jäätteenmäki was Minister of Justice
Minister of Justice (Finland)
-List of Ministers of Justice:...
from 1994 to 1995. She was chairwoman of the Centre Party of Finland from 18 June 2000 to 5 October 2003, although the first year was as acting leader during Esko Aho
Esko Aho
Esko Tapani Aho is a statesman and former Prime Minister of Finland.-Early life and career:Aho was born in Veteli, Finland. Prior to attending university, he began a career in politics. From 1974 to 1979, he was Chairman of the Finnish Centre Youth, which had before him grown many of his...
's sabbatical leave to lecture at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
2003 parliamentary elections
After eight years in opposition, she led the Centre Party of Finland to a narrow victory over the formerly largest party, the Social Democratic Party of FinlandSocial Democratic Party of Finland
The Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the three major political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. Jutta Urpilainen is the current SDP leader. The party has been in the Finnish government cabinet for long periods and has set many...
, in the parliamentary elections
Finnish parliamentary election, 2003
The Finnish parliamentary election of 2003 was the 34th election to the Eduskunta , held on 16 March 2003 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term...
of 2003. According to the new constitution, which was in effect for the first time after this election, she was thereby given the first opportunity to form a new Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
. After successful coalition negotiations with the Social Democrats and the Swedish People's Party, she came to head a coalition cabinet which chiefly continued on the lines of its predecessor, Paavo Lipponen's second Cabinet
Paavo Lipponen's second Cabinet
Paavo Lipponen's second cabinet was the 67th government of the Republic of Finland. The cabinet's time period was from April 15, 1999 to April 17, 2003. It was a majority government....
, but introduced new measures to stimulate the economy, including tax cuts.
During her brief time in office, Finland was the only country in the world to have women as both prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
and president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
, a situation underlined by the fact that half of her cabinet were women.
Anneli Jäätteenmäki's short term as Prime Minister of Finland is, however, not the shortest in the history of Finland. Beside caretaker cabinets and temporary prime ministers appointed due to the death or disease of the predecessor, Juho Heikki Vennola headed a Cabinet which lasted only for a little more than a month February-March 1931, in connection with the Lapua Movement
Lapua Movement
The Lapua Movement , was a Finnish radical nationalist and anti-communist political movement founded in and named after the town of Lapua. After radicalisation it turned towards far-right politics and was banned after a failed coup-d'état in 1932...
's vociferous anti-democratic demands for influence on the presidential election.
Resignation and criminal investigation
Anneli Jäätteenmäki resigned on 18 June 2003, under pressure resulting from the accusation that she had lied to Parliament and the public over how she had acquired confidential Foreign Ministry documents which she used for political purposes during the election campaign. The documents contained diplomatic information from a meeting between President of the United States George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen
Paavo Lipponen
Paavo Tapio Lipponen is a Finnish politician and former reporter. He was Prime Minister of Finland from 1995 to 2003, and Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland from 1993 to 2005...
about Finland's position regarding the Iraq war
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. Jäätteenmäki used the information to suggest that her rival, the Social Democrat leader Paavo Lipponen, had secretly offered Finnish support for the U.S.-led coalition, a substantial breach against the official policy of neutrality in Finland's foreign politics
Foreign relations of Finland
The foreign relations of Finland are the responsibility of President of Finland, who leads foreign policy in cooperation with the government. Implicitly the government is responsible for internal policy and decision making in the European Union...
, and thus associated Finland with what many Finns considered an illegal war of aggression
War of aggression
A war of aggression, sometimes also war of conquest, is a military conflict waged without the justification of self-defense usually for territorial gain and subjugation. The phrase is distinctly modern and diametrically opposed to the prior legal international standard of "might makes right", under...
. Jäätteenmäki broke the traditional unity and silence behind Finland's security policies. As the elections turned out to be close, the defeated Social Democrats found reasons to suspect that her nontraditional campaign was decisive for the outcome, which soured the relationship between the two major coalition partners.
After the leaked documents were published in several newspapers in March, the police launched a criminal investigation based on the Official Secrets Act. On 11 June prime Minister Jäätteenmäki was heard as a witness by the police, which led to increasing pressure on her to come clean on her role in the leak. The same week, the incriminating minutes of a meeting of Centre Party leaders were leaked to the press, as later came clear, via the Centre Party second vice-chairman Hannu Takkula
Hannu Takkula
Hannu Takkula is a Finnish politician and Member of the European Parliament with the Centre Party of Finland....
. On 16 June it came to light that a presidential aide, Martti Manninen, affiliated with the Centre Party, had leaked the Foreign Ministry documents. On 18 June Jäätteenmäki gave her "full explanation" to Parliament and apologised to the President, claiming that she had been faxed the documents without asking for them, and that she had not known of their secrecy. The Parliament was not satisfied with her account, and once Manninen on the same afternoon publicly claimed that Jäätteenmäki had specifically and forcefully asked for the information, and that he would be able to prove it, her coalition partners made it clear that they had no trust in her leadership. She resigned the same evening, citing the lack of political trust, and without admitting any wrongdoing.
Consequently, she announced on 24 June that she would resign as leader of the Centre Party. Matti Vanhanen
Matti Vanhanen
Matti Taneli Vanhanen is a Finnish politician. He is a former Prime Minister of Finland and a former Chairman of the Centre Party. In the second half of 2006 he was President of the European Council. In his earlier career he was a journalist...
was elected as the new party leader on 5 October and he succeeded her as Prime Minister.
The police investigation into the leak concluded on 19 December 2003 that Mrs. Jäätteenmäki should be prosecuted for aiding or abetting Manninen in revealing state secrets in contravention of the law. However, on 19 March 2004 the Helsinki District Court acquitted Jäätteenmäki on all counts.
Current position
Jäätteenmäki currently serves as an MEPMember of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
for the Centre Party
Centre Party
There are several self-described centrist political parties with the name Centre Party.Nordic Agrarian parties most typically use this name.-Active parties:: Åland Centre: Estonian Centre Party: Centre Party: Centre Party: German Centre Party: Centre Party: Center Party: Lithuanian Centre Party:...
in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. In the 2004 European Parliament elections
European Parliament election, 2004 (Finland)
The European Parliament election of 2004 in Finland was the election of MEP representing Finland constituency for the 2004-2009 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 2004 European election. The vote took place on June 13...
, she received over 140,000 votes, the highest individual tally and approximately 8% of all votes cast.
In April 2006, Anneli Jäätteenmäki announced to the Finnish media that she was going to take some time out of her parliamentary work due to breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
, but she returned to politics following her successful recovery. Despite offers to return to Finnish national politics, she declined to become a candidate in the Finnish Parliament elections in 2007
Finnish parliamentary election, 2007
The Finnish parliamentary election of 2007 was the 35th election to the Eduskunta , held on 18 March 2007 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Early voting was possible from the 7–13 March. Two hundred MPs were elected from 15 constituencies.Election themes included a reduction...
. She was reelected to the European Parliament in the 2009 European Parliament elections
European Parliament election, 2009 (Finland)
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Finland was the election of the delegation from Finland to the European Parliament in 2009.Finland uses the open list d'Hondt method, where voters vote for an individual, but the individual's vote is counted primarily for the party and secondarily for the...
with the second highest tally of votes in Finland after Timo Soini
Timo Soini
Timo Juhani Soini is a Finnish politician, and co-founder and current leader of the True Finns party. He was a member of the European Parliament from 2009 until 2011, when he returned to the Parliament of Finland. Well-known as an EU-sceptic populist, he was elected a member of the Espoo city...
.
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