Marja Tiura
Encyclopedia
Marja Johanna Tiura is a Finnish former Member of Parliament
representing the National Coalition Party. She was first elected to parliament for the Pirkanmaa
region in the 1999 general election, and retained her seat in the 2003 and 2007 elections. She lost her seat in the 2011 general election
. She has also served as a locally elected politician on the Tampere Municipal Authority from 2000 to 2008. She was local party secretary from 1996 to 1999. Tiura has made headlines in Finland in 2009 and 2010 for coming under parliamentary and police investigation for allegedly taking bribes from significant business enterprises led by Kyösti Kakkonen
of the KMS Group and Arto Merisalo of the Nova Group. The accusation is that she received this money so that she would become an undeclared lobbyist for their own business concerns. In the end the accusations did not lead to charges.
, New Braunfels
, Texas, USA, in 1987, and from Toijala
High School in 1989. She graduated from Tampere Business College, where she studied business and administration, in 1992. She studied public relations at Päivölä Training College in 1996 and completed a masters degree in business administration at the University of Tampere
in 1999.
, Tiura was elected to the Finnish parliament in the 1999 General election
with 5288 votes. In the 2003 General election she received 10,686 votes and in the 2007 General election 17,577 votes, which was the highest number of votes for any candidate in the Pirkanmaa
electoral region, the fourth highest in the entire country, and the highest obtaind by a female candidate. Regardless of the voter popularity, Tiura was not chosen in the ministerial negotiations between the coalition members of the incoming government to receive a ministerial portfolio, on the grounds that despite popular public support she is considered a political lightweight who is unable to work with others, pointing, for instance, to her high turnover of parliamentary assistants.
In 2007-2011 Tiura worked in the parliament as the first deputy chairman of the National Coalition Party's parliamentary group and chairman of the Committee on Future. She was also a member of the finance committee.
Tiura was not re-elected in the 2011 election
.
The Nova Group also donated in 2008 21,000 euros to a private school, Anna Tapion koulu, in Aitoo, a village in the municipality of Pälkäne
, in which Tiura is the deputy chairman of its governing board. Furthermore, it emerged that the Nova Group had offered 4.2 million euros to the school to cover repairs to their buildings. The newspaper Aamulehti
discovered that Tiura's election campaign manager had renewed the school's webpages significantly reducing the sum of money that had been donated to the school.
In September 2009 Tiura returned to both the Nova Group and the MJT Club money she had received from them. However, the Nova Group's former director, Arto Merisalo, then informed the newspaper Iltalehti
that they has also paid for Tiura's flight tickets for a journey to Thailand
in 2009, as well as paid for furniture for her personal use.
In March 2010 Tiura told in an interview in the magazine Apu
that the party secretary of the Centre Party
, Jarmo Korhonen, had tried to get her to defect to the Centre Party after the 2007 elections. Korhonen replied that in fact Tiura herself had initiated the contact, a statement backed up by Merisalo.
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,...
representing the National Coalition Party. She was first elected to parliament for the Pirkanmaa
Pirkanmaa
Pirkanmaa , or the Tampere Region , is a region of Finland. It borders on the regions of Satakunta, Tavastia Proper, Päijänne Tavastia, Southern Ostrobothnia and Central Finland....
region in the 1999 general election, and retained her seat in the 2003 and 2007 elections. She lost her seat in the 2011 general election
Finnish parliamentary election, 2011
An election to the Eduskunta was held on 17 April 2011 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Advance voting, which included voting by Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31.2%....
. She has also served as a locally elected politician on the Tampere Municipal Authority from 2000 to 2008. She was local party secretary from 1996 to 1999. Tiura has made headlines in Finland in 2009 and 2010 for coming under parliamentary and police investigation for allegedly taking bribes from significant business enterprises led by Kyösti Kakkonen
Kyösti Kakkonen
Kyösti Kakkonen is a significant Finnish businessman, art collector and millionaire. He is the chief executive officer of Tokmanni.-External links:*...
of the KMS Group and Arto Merisalo of the Nova Group. The accusation is that she received this money so that she would become an undeclared lobbyist for their own business concerns. In the end the accusations did not lead to charges.
Education
Tiura graduated from New Braunfels High SchoolNew Braunfels High School
New Braunfels High School is a public, co-educational secondary school in New Braunfels, Texas that was established in 1845. Up until 2008, New Braunfels was one of the largest, 4A, high schools in Texas...
, New Braunfels
New Braunfels, Texas
New Braunfels is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas that is a principal city of the metropolitan area. Braunfels means "brown rock" in German; the city is named for Braunfels, in Germany. The city's population was 57,740 as of the 2010 census, up 58% from the 2000...
, Texas, USA, in 1987, and from Toijala
Toijala
Toijala is a former town and municipality of Finland, located some south of Tampere. On 1 January 2007, it was consolidated with Viiala to form the town of Akaa....
High School in 1989. She graduated from Tampere Business College, where she studied business and administration, in 1992. She studied public relations at Päivölä Training College in 1996 and completed a masters degree in business administration at the University of Tampere
University of Tampere
The University of Tampere is a university in Tampere, Finland. It has 15,400 degree students and 2,100 employees. It was originally founded in 1925 in Helsinki as a Civic College , and from 1930 onwards it was known as a School of Social Sciences...
in 1999.
Personal life
Tiura is married to Olli Ainola, former economic director of YLE, the Finnish national broadcasting company. They have one child, a boy, born on October 24 2008.Political career
Under the Finnish electoral system of proportional representationProportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
, Tiura was elected to the Finnish parliament in the 1999 General election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
with 5288 votes. In the 2003 General election she received 10,686 votes and in the 2007 General election 17,577 votes, which was the highest number of votes for any candidate in the Pirkanmaa
Pirkanmaa
Pirkanmaa , or the Tampere Region , is a region of Finland. It borders on the regions of Satakunta, Tavastia Proper, Päijänne Tavastia, Southern Ostrobothnia and Central Finland....
electoral region, the fourth highest in the entire country, and the highest obtaind by a female candidate. Regardless of the voter popularity, Tiura was not chosen in the ministerial negotiations between the coalition members of the incoming government to receive a ministerial portfolio, on the grounds that despite popular public support she is considered a political lightweight who is unable to work with others, pointing, for instance, to her high turnover of parliamentary assistants.
In 2007-2011 Tiura worked in the parliament as the first deputy chairman of the National Coalition Party's parliamentary group and chairman of the Committee on Future. She was also a member of the finance committee.
Tiura was not re-elected in the 2011 election
Finnish parliamentary election, 2011
An election to the Eduskunta was held on 17 April 2011 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Advance voting, which included voting by Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31.2%....
.
Critique
The influence of the organization Kehittyvien maakuntien Suomi KMS (Sustainable municipalities Finland) in giving money to Finnish politicians in their electoral campaigns during the 2007 general election has since the elections led to both parliamentary and police investigations. It emerged that Tiura received 20,000 euros. Campaign support money for Tiura had been raised by a support group (the 'MJT club'), founded by Tampere business consultant Eila Saviaro, raising 34,000 euros. The KMS, through the Nova Group, had given her 4880 euros to pay for newspaper campaign advertisements.The Nova Group also donated in 2008 21,000 euros to a private school, Anna Tapion koulu, in Aitoo, a village in the municipality of Pälkäne
Pälkäne
Pälkäne is a municipality of Finland.Pälkäne is in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
, in which Tiura is the deputy chairman of its governing board. Furthermore, it emerged that the Nova Group had offered 4.2 million euros to the school to cover repairs to their buildings. The newspaper Aamulehti
Aamulehti
Aamulehti is a Finnish newspaper published in Tampere. It has the second largest circulation of Finnish dailies with an average circulation of 136,726 per day and 140,802 on Sundays . Today Aamulehti is part of Alma Media, a large media corporation in Finland...
discovered that Tiura's election campaign manager had renewed the school's webpages significantly reducing the sum of money that had been donated to the school.
In September 2009 Tiura returned to both the Nova Group and the MJT Club money she had received from them. However, the Nova Group's former director, Arto Merisalo, then informed the newspaper Iltalehti
Iltalehti
Iltalehti is a daily tabloid newspaper and the third largest newspaper in Finland. Of tabloid newspapers, Iltalehti has a market share of 40% and its biggest rival Ilta-Sanomat has a market share of 60%...
that they has also paid for Tiura's flight tickets for a journey to Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in 2009, as well as paid for furniture for her personal use.
In March 2010 Tiura told in an interview in the magazine Apu
Apu (magazine)
Apu is a Finnish weekly family magazine. It was founded in 1933 by Finnish publisher A-lehdet. , its current editor-in-chief is Matti Saari. In 2007, it had a certified readership of 683000 and a circulation of 215525 copies...
that the party secretary of the Centre Party
Centre Party (Finland)
The Centre Party is a centrist and Nordic agrarian political party in Finland. It is one of the four largest political parties in the country, along with the Social Democratic Party , the National Coalition Party and the True Finns , and currently has 35 seats in the Finnish Parliament...
, Jarmo Korhonen, had tried to get her to defect to the Centre Party after the 2007 elections. Korhonen replied that in fact Tiura herself had initiated the contact, a statement backed up by Merisalo.