Ben Zyskowicz
Encyclopedia
Ben Berl Zyskowicz is a Finnish politician and member of parliament
. Zyskowicz was chairman of the Finnish National Coalition Party's (Finnish: Kansallinen Kokoomus) parliamentary
group from 1993 to 2006 and has been a member of parliament for the National Coalition Party since 1979. He was the first of Jewish ancestry to be elected to the Finnish parliament. Following the parliamentary elections in April 2011, Zyskowicz was elected as the acting speaker of the parliament, a position he gave up after the new cabinet had been formed..
Zyskowicz was born in Helsinki to Jewish parents. His father, Abram, was a Polish Jew who had been in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp
and moved as a refugee to Sweden
, where he met Ben's mother, Ester, a Finnish Jew. Ben Zyskowicz has been married to Rahime Husnetdin-Zyskowicz, a member of the Finnish Muslim
Tatar community, since 1982 and has two daughters, Daniela (1983) and Dinah (1985).
Zyskowicz abstains from alcohol. He is known to be a regular at Café Strindberg – a popular celebrity-spotting location on Pohjoisesplanadi in the Helsinki
city centre.
Zyskowicz is renowned for being the Finnish politician with the most difficult to spell name. In 2002, Ilta-Sanomat
reported that only 16,6 % of Finns knew how to correctly spell his name. In 2011 he was elected as the acting speaker for the Finnish parliament. Despite spelling instructions for his name being sent by text message to elected members of parliament, two voting ballots were disqualified for misspelling his name.
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. Zyskowicz was chairman of the Finnish National Coalition Party's (Finnish: Kansallinen Kokoomus) parliamentary
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 :...
group from 1993 to 2006 and has been a member of parliament for the National Coalition Party since 1979. He was the first of Jewish ancestry to be elected to the Finnish parliament. Following the parliamentary elections in April 2011, Zyskowicz was elected as the acting speaker of the parliament, a position he gave up after the new cabinet had been formed..
Zyskowicz was born in Helsinki to Jewish parents. His father, Abram, was a Polish Jew who had been in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
and moved as a refugee to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, where he met Ben's mother, Ester, a Finnish Jew. Ben Zyskowicz has been married to Rahime Husnetdin-Zyskowicz, a member of the Finnish Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Tatar community, since 1982 and has two daughters, Daniela (1983) and Dinah (1985).
Zyskowicz abstains from alcohol. He is known to be a regular at Café Strindberg – a popular celebrity-spotting location on Pohjoisesplanadi in the Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
city centre.
Zyskowicz is renowned for being the Finnish politician with the most difficult to spell name. In 2002, Ilta-Sanomat
Ilta-Sanomat
Ilta-Sanomat is one of Finland's two prominent tabloid size evening dailys and the second largest newspaper in the country...
reported that only 16,6 % of Finns knew how to correctly spell his name. In 2011 he was elected as the acting speaker for the Finnish parliament. Despite spelling instructions for his name being sent by text message to elected members of parliament, two voting ballots were disqualified for misspelling his name.