Tarja Halonen

Tarja Kaarina Halonen [ tɑrjɑ hɑlɔnɛn ] ( born December 24, 1943 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish politician. She was on 1 March 2000, the first female head of state of Finland. In 2006 she was re-elected for a second term, which ended on 1 March 2012. According to the Finnish Constitution, only two terms of office of the President have been possible since 1994.

Career

As a law graduate, she appeared in 1971 in the Social Democratic Party of Finland a. From 1977 to 1996 she was a Member of the Helsinki City Council, from 1979 to 2000 in the Finnish Parliament.

Since 1987 she has headed various ministries in the Finnish government: to 1990, as Minister of Social Affairs and Health from 1989 to 1991 as Minister of Scandinavian cooperation from 1990 to 1991 as a Justice, and from 1995 to 2000 as Foreign Minister. While the latter activity of the accession of Finland took place in the European Union and in the second half of 1999, Finland was the first time the Council Presidency.

Since her studies, she was strongly committed to gays and lesbians. This commitment and the fact that she was still unmarried cohabiting as a mother of a daughter with her partner, seemed their chances of popular election for the Finnish President in 2000, compromising, all the more so as they Esko Aho, Riitta Uosukainen and Elisabeth Rehn had weighty and popular competitors.

To everyone's surprise, however, won the election campaign of the incumbent Minister for Foreign Affairs - also thanks to the prized successful Finnish EU Presidency 1999 - more support. So they could in the first round of voting on 16 January 2000, 40.0 % of the vote put before Esko Aho ( 34.4 %) clearly at the top of the seven candidates.

The on February 6, 2000 have become necessary runoff election against the Conservatives Aho she decided with 51.6 % just for themselves.

Along with taking office on 1 February 2000 entered into Finland a constitutional amendment in force, which restricts the previously very extensive powers of the head of state on more representative tasks. As a result, Tarja Halonen could emerge not in the same proportions as their predecessors Urho Kekkonen and Mauno Koivisto, Martti Ahtisaari, also in the design of the interior and foreign policy.

Tarja Halonen, who enjoyed high popularity in the opinion polls regularly values ​​, was on 19 May 2005 announced to run for a second term. In the first round of voting on 15 January 2006, it reached 46.3 % of the vote, falling short of an absolute majority. In the final on 29 January 2006, she competed against the second-placed Sauli Niinistö and won it with 51.8 %, considering its high popularity ratings are surprisingly scarce.

Awards (selection)

  • 2001: Elephants Medal
  • 2001: special stage of the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • 2002: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary
  • 2006: Grand Cross with Collar of the Star of Romania
  • 2006: Great Star of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
Elisabeth Rehn Lauri Kristian Relander Pehr Evind Svinhufvud Risto Ryti Otto Stenroth Carl Enckell Juho Vennola Johannes Virolainen Karl-August Fagerholm Ahti Karjalainen Kalevi Sorsa Keijo Korhonen Erkki Tuomioja Ilkka Kanerva Alexander Stubb Integrated Authority File
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