Risto Penttilä
Encyclopedia
Risto Erkki Juhani Penttilä (born 17 March 1959, Pori
, Finland
) is a policy expert, former member of the Finnish parliament, Director of the Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA) and Secretary General of European Business Leaders’ Convention.
In the 2009 European Parliament election
, Penttilä was one of the most popular candidates in Finland. His result 50,858 was short by a margin of several hundred votes and gave him the first deputy candidacy.
Penttilä was the first Finn to receive Bachelor's degree from Yale. In Oxford, he lived in the same room as Bill Clinton
before him and Chelsea Clinton
after him.
and Oxford Analytica
. He has been a columnist in the International Herald Tribune
, the Financial Times
, and Taloussanomat
. He won the Finnish Cup
football championship in the Lahden Reipas team in 1978. In Yale, Penttilä was selected to the Ivy league
football team.
In 1994, he and several other people founded the Nuorsuomalaiset, a reform-oriented liberal political party. He was elected to the parliament in the 1995 elections. The party failed in the 1999 elections and was discontinued.
In the 2009 European Parliament election
, he was a National Coalition Party candidate. Penttilä was endorsed by people such as former socialist leader Suvi-Anne Siimes
, business leader Björn Wahlroos
, ice-hockey coach Juhani Tamminen
, and Finnish design leader Lenita Airisto
. He was one of the most popular candidates, receiving 50,858 votes and the first deputy seat.
Penttilä has proposed English as an official "auxiliary language" in Finland. He has said: "A separate statute would specify for those foreigners who are living here - and those foreigners and companies who are moving to Finland - such areas, for instance of public administration, services, and taxation, in which documentation would also be printed and made available in English". Penttilä has encouraged open discussion about pension reform in Finland. Penttilä has argued that Finland should join NATO.
Pori
Pori is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäenjoki river, which is the largest in Finland. Pori is the most important town in the Satakunta region....
, 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...
) is a policy expert, former member of the Finnish parliament, Director of the Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA) and Secretary General of European Business Leaders’ Convention.
In the 2009 European Parliament election
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...
, Penttilä was one of the most popular candidates in Finland. His result 50,858 was short by a margin of several hundred votes and gave him the first deputy candidacy.
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy (International Relations), University College, Oxford University 1989
- Master of Philosophy, University College, Oxford University 1986
- Bachelor of Arts, Saybrook College, Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
1984
Penttilä was the first Finn to receive Bachelor's degree from Yale. In Oxford, he lived in the same room as Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
before him and Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Victoria Clinton is a television journalist, currently serving as Special Correspondent for NBC News, and philanthropist, working through the Clinton Global Initiative. She is the only child of former U.S...
after him.
Career
Penttilä has worked for McKinsey, the World Economic ForumWorld Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
and Oxford Analytica
Oxford Analytica
Oxford Analytica is an international consulting firm providing strategic analysis of world events. It was founded in 1975 by David Young, an American employee of the National Security Council during the Nixon administration and one of the four in the Watergate scandal.Clients of Oxford Analytica...
. He has been a columnist in the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
, the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, and Taloussanomat
Taloussanomat
Taloussanomat is a commerce-oriented newspaper in Finland. It is owned by Sanoma.Since 28 December 2007 it is only published on the Internet . -History:...
. He won the Finnish Cup
Finnish Cup
The Finnish Cup is Finland's main national cup competition in football.This yearly competition is open for member clubs of the FA of Finland. Finnish Cup has been played since 1955.Finnish Cup winner qualifies to UEFA Europa League...
football championship in the Lahden Reipas team in 1978. In Yale, Penttilä was selected to the Ivy league
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
football team.
In 1994, he and several other people founded the Nuorsuomalaiset, a reform-oriented liberal political party. He was elected to the parliament in the 1995 elections. The party failed in the 1999 elections and was discontinued.
In the 2009 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...
, he was a National Coalition Party candidate. Penttilä was endorsed by people such as former socialist leader Suvi-Anne Siimes
Suvi-Anne Siimes
Sini Maaria Suvi-Anne Siimes is a former chair of the Finnish Left Alliance. She quit the party in 2006 because she did not want to support the party's former taistoists ....
, business leader Björn Wahlroos
Björn Wahlroos
Björn Arne Christer Wahlroos is the Chairman of the Board in Sampo Group, Nordea and UPM-Kymmene. Wahlroos’s nickname is "Nalle", which means "teddy bear" in Finnish and Swedish.- Career :...
, ice-hockey coach Juhani Tamminen
Juhani Tamminen
Juhani Tamminen is a Finnish retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga and World Hockey Association. He played for TPS, HJK, HIFK, Cleveland Crusaders, and Phoenix Roadrunners...
, and Finnish design leader Lenita Airisto
Lenita Airisto
Hymmi Lenita Aulikki Airisto is a Finnish business leader, promoter of Finnish industrial and cultural exports, TV journalist and author.-Maiden of Finland:...
. He was one of the most popular candidates, receiving 50,858 votes and the first deputy seat.
Penttilä has proposed English as an official "auxiliary language" in Finland. He has said: "A separate statute would specify for those foreigners who are living here - and those foreigners and companies who are moving to Finland - such areas, for instance of public administration, services, and taxation, in which documentation would also be printed and made available in English". Penttilä has encouraged open discussion about pension reform in Finland. Penttilä has argued that Finland should join NATO.
Books
- Risto E. J. Penttilä: Historian roolipeli (Otava 2006)
- Risto E. J. Penttilä: The Role of the G8 in International Peace and Security (Oxford University Press 2003).
- Risto E. J. Penttilä & al.: Ultimatum isänmaalle. Nuorsuomalainen näkemys Suomen mahdollisuuksista (Otava 1994)
- Risto E. J. Penttilä: Finland’s Search for Security through Defence 1944-89 (Macmillan 1991)
- Risto E. J. Penttilä: Puolustuslinjat : puolustuspolitiikka Suomen kansainvälisen aseman vakauttamisessa 1944-67 (Otava 1988)
External links
- Official website
- Risto E. J. Penttilä: Suomen ulkopolitiikan idea (Taloustieto 2008)