Matti Vanhanen
Matti Vanhanen | |
|---|---|
| File:Matti Vanhanen(2008).JPG | |
| Prime Minister of Finland | |
| Assumed office 24 June 2003 | |
| President | Tarja Halonen |
| Deputy | Antti Kalliomäki Eero Heinäluoma Jyrki Katainen |
| Preceded by | Anneli Jäätteenmäki |
| Succeeded by | Mari Kiviniemi (Designate) |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 17 April 2003 – 24 June 2003 | |
| Prime Minister | Anneli Jäätteenmäki |
| Preceded by | Jan-Erik Enestam |
| Succeeded by | Seppo Kääriäinen |
| Member of the Finnish Parliament for Uusimaa | |
| Assumed office 22 March 1991 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 November 1955 Jyväskylä, Finland |
| Political party | Centre Party |
| Alma mater | University of Helsinki |
| Profession | Political science Social science Journalist |
| Signature |  |
Matti Taneli Vanhanen () (born November 4, 1955) is a Finnish politician. He is a former Prime Minister of Finland and a former Chairman of the Keskusta (Centre Party of Finland). In the second half of 2006 he was President of the European Council. In his earlier career he was a journalist.
Career
Vanhanen was born in Jyväskylä, the son of professor Tatu Vanhanen, co-author of IQ and the Wealth of Nations, and Anni Tiihonen.
He studied political science at the University of Helsinki, graduating as a Master of Social Sciences in 1989 [1]. He was chairman of the Centre Party Youth League from 1980 to 1983. He also served as a member of the Espoo City Council from 1981 to 1984. Vanhanen used to work as a journalist. He was an editor (1985–1988) and editor-in-chief (1988–1991) at the local newspaper Kehäsanomat. In a column in Suomenmaa, he strongly condemned the Baltic Star pro-Estonian independence demonstration held in Helsinki in July 1985, calling the demonstration "provocative".[2].
Vanhanen was elected to the Finnish Parliament (Eduskunta) in 1991. As a member of Parliament he was interested in ecological issues. For instance, Vanhanen spoke against the building of a fifth nuclear power plant in 1992, at the same time as serving on the board of electricity corporation Fortum. He served on the Parliamentary Environment Committee 1991–1995, and was chair of the Parliamentary Grand Committee 2000–2001. He was vice-chair of the Centre Party Parliamentary group 1994–2001, and Deputy Chairman of the Centre Party 2000–2003.
Another important topic for Vanhanen was Finland's foreign and security policy. As a specialist on the European Union he was a member of the European Union Constitutional Convention. There he criticized the president of the convention, former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, as authoritarian. Vanhanen has said [1] that he is unenthusiastic about European co-operation, and that he is an "EU pragmatist", so he may be considered a eurosceptic, especially when compared to his EU-enthusiast predecessor Paavo Lipponen.
Vanhanen's first cabinet
Vanhanen resigned from the Constitutional Convention in 2003 when he became Minister of Defense in the cabinet of Prime Minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki. After Jäätteenmäki's resignation, Vanhanen was elected Prime Minister and his first cabinet was formed.
As a politician, Vanhanen is considered to be part of the liberal wing of the old agrarian Central Party, along with the two other Party ministers from Uusimaa region. His government cut the top state income tax rate from 35.5% to 33.5% in 2005 and 32.5% in 2006 (resulting in approximately 55% total tax rate after local government and social security taxes). The corporate tax rate was also lowered to 26% and capital gains to 28% (both formerly 29%), though at the same time dividends were partially made taxable. Vanhanen has said he is willing to continue tax cuts.
Presidential candidate
As the Centre Party candidate, Vanhanen challenged President Tarja Halonen in the 2006 Finnish presidential election. He received 18.6% of the vote, coming third to the National Coalition Party's Sauli Niinistö (24.1%) and Social Democrat and incumbent Tarja Halonen (46.3%), and thus did not qualify for the runoff. Vanhanen expressed his support for Niinistö in the runoff election against his coalition partner's candidate Halonen.
The presidential election, and cooperation between Centre Party and National Coalition Party, proved to be a major strain on the government coalition between the Centre Party and Social Democrats. The flashpoint came in March, when the Centre Party demanded national agricultural subsidies to cover farmers' losses when the Finnish exception in the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy was about to expire. At the end of the crisis Vanhanen told his parliamentary group that taxpayers would cover ninety percent or about 100 million euros in losses.
Vanhanen's second cabinet
After the March 2007 election the Centre Party narrowly remained the largest party after losing four seats. However their coalition partner, the SDP, lost eight seats and the centre-right National Coalition Party gained ten. Vanhanen's second cabinet was formed on a centre-right basis, with minor partners the Green League and the Swedish People's Party.
A scandal involving Vanhanen's second cabinet began rolling in May 2008, after the leader of the Centre Party's parliamentary group Timo Kalli said publicly that he would not reveal information about his campaign finances, because such disclosure was not required. After a media backlash, Kalli gave up his secrecy and listed a group of businessmen known as "Kehittyvien maakuntien Suomi" (KMS; in English, "The Finland of Developing Provinces"), who had financed the Centre Party. Centre Party links with KMS were suspected, as one address of the organisation belonged to a party official. It was later revealed that the organisation had been formed in the Centre Party's general secretary's office.
After the Russian response to the Georgian invasion of South Ossetia, Vanhanen said that Finland would rethink its security.[3]
Vanhanen has proposed raising the retirement age from the current 63 to 65 years.[4][5][6] His proposal was fiercely opposed by the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (Finnish acronym SAK), which is affiliated with the SDP.[7]
Personality
Vanhanen has been characterised as uncharismatic and even boring, which he has attempted to turn to his advantage in tense political situations. Vanhanen is known for being a teetotaler, saying that he does not like the taste of alcohol.[8] He rarely smiles in public.[citation needed] He has been quoted as denying ever taking advice from other persons.[9]
Matti Vanhanen was against the independence movement in the Baltic States during 1980s. In his column in Suomenmaa in 1985, Vanhanen condemned the Baltic independence movement both for "wishing to change the Soviet system" and for "indifference towards the post Second World War reality". Vanhanen claimed that the difference between capitalism and socialism was not significant; and that instead of being concerned about the Soviet system, it would be better to concentrate, for example, in the research of Fenno-Ugric languages.[10]
In 2009, he visited the People's Republic of China and credited the government for being systematic, as well as being able to place clear priorities and to mobilise the required resources to accomplish them. In his opinion, the Western world ought to note the example of China, where policies are implemented rapidly and effectively. [11] He said he was impressed of the progress the country has made in dealing with difficult issues.[12]
Vanhanen married Merja Vanhanen in 1985. They have two children: Annastiina (born 1991) and Juhana (born 1994). Matti Vanhanen and Merja Vanhanen unexpectedly announced their divorce on 6 April 2005, which had political repercussions for the self-styled family man.[citation needed]
Later there were claims in the tabloid press of affairs during and after his marriage. After his divorce, Susan Kuronen (she later changed her last name to Ruusunen) was widely linked to Vanhanen [13] but their relationship broke down.[14] In February 2007, Kuronen released a tell-all book The Prime Minister's Bride, which actually boosted the prime minister's popularity with the public. Tens of thousands of Finns signed an online petition against the book and some bookstores refused to put it on the shelf.[15] Vanhanen sued Kuronen for invasion of privacy in March 2007, following the March elections. The court dismissed all charges against Kuronen about a year later but Vanhanen stated that he was unsatisfied with the outcome and would continue the case in higher courts.
Since ending his dating relationship with Kuronen (Ruusunen), Vanhanen has been dating Sirkka Mertala.
In a 2006 book commissioned for the presidential elections, Se on ihan Matti, Vanhanen compared the Finnish tabloid press to the KGB and Stasi, former Soviet Union and East German secret police agencies [16].
During the ASEM 2006 meeting in Helsinki, French president Jacques Chirac described Vanhanen, perhaps jokingly, as "the sexiest man in Finland".[17] Vanhanen is about 198 cm (6'6"). He is also left-handed[18]
He attended the Bilderberg Group meeting in 2009.[19][20]
References
- ^ http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/vol/laitos/alumni/index.htm
- ^ Matti Vanhanen, Suomenmaa 30.7.1985
- ^ Vanhanen: Finland to Rethink Security Following Crisis in Georgia
- ^ Vanhanen: Eläkeiän korotus lähti minun aloitteestani
- ^ Vanhanen: Eläkeiän nostolla maksetaan laman laskut
- ^ PM Vanhanen: "Necessary to Raise Pension Age”
- ^ SAK uhkaa katkaista välit hallitukseen
- ^ taz.de - Archiv
- ^ blog.anta.net / Five advisors, zero advice?
- ^ Matti Vanhanen, Suomenmaa 30.7.1985
- ^ ; Petteri Tuohinen ‘Vanhanen: Lansimaat voisivat ottaa oppia Kiinan tehokkuudesta’ Helsingin Sanomat 21.4.2009
- ^ China smothers Vanhanen in cordial language 29.4.2009
- ^ Iltalehti.fi | Viihde | 01.08.2006 | Matti Vanhanen ja Susan viihtyvät yhdessä
- ^ Helsingin Sanomat - International Edition - People
- ^ My Way
- ^ MTV3 Internet >Uutiset - Kotimaa
- ^ "Finland's secret weapon". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ http://www.hs.fi/english/picture/1101981916452
- ^ http://www.berlinerumschau.com/index.php?set_language=de&cccpage=15052009ArtikelPolitikMueller1
- ^ http://www.ibtimes.de/articles/20090514/bilderberg-konferenz-astir-hotel-athen-weltwirtschaft.htm
See also
External links
| |
.JPG){kind=link}