Anneli Jäätteenmäki
Anneli Jäätteenmäki | |
---|---|
39th Prime Minister of Finland | |
In office 17 April 2003 – 24 June 2003 | |
President | Tarja Halonen |
Deputy | Antti Kalliomäki |
Preceded by | Paavo Lipponen |
Succeeded by | Matti Vanhanen |
Minister of Justice[1] | |
In office 1 May 1994 – 13 April 1995 | |
Prime Minister | Esko Aho |
Preceded by | Hannele Pokka |
Succeeded by | Sauli Niinistö |
Personal details | |
Born | Anneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki 11 February 1955 Lapua, Finland |
Political party | Centre Party |
Spouse | Jorma Melleri |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | University of Helsinki |
Website | annelijäätteenmäki |
Anneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki (born 11 February 1955) is a Finnish politician who was the first female and 39th
Background and career
Jäätteenmäki was born on a small farm in the forests of
Prime Minister
After eight years in opposition, she led the
During her brief time in office, Finland was the only country in the world to have women as both prime minister and
Resignation
Anneli Jäätteenmäki resigned on 18 June 2003, under pressure resulting from the accusation that she had lied to Parliament and the public over how she had acquired confidential Foreign Ministry documents which she used for political purposes during the election campaign. The documents contained diplomatic information from a meeting between United States President
After the leaked documents were published in several newspapers in March, the police launched a criminal investigation based on the Official Secrets Act. On 11 June Prime Minister Jäätteenmäki was heard as a witness by the police, which led to increasing pressure on her to come clean on her role in the leak. The same week, the incriminating minutes of a meeting of Centre Party leaders were leaked to the press, as later came clear, via the Centre Party second vice-chairman Hannu Takkula. On 16 June it came to light that a presidential aide, Martti Manninen, affiliated with the Centre Party, had leaked the foreign ministry documents. On 18 June Jäätteenmäki gave her "full explanation" to Parliament and apologised to the President, claiming that she had been faxed the documents without asking for them, and that she had not known of their secrecy. The Parliament was not satisfied with her account, and once Manninen (the same afternoon) publicly claimed that Jäätteenmäki had specifically and forcefully asked for the information, and that he would be able to prove it, her coalition partners made it clear that they had no trust in her leadership. She resigned the same evening, citing the lack of political trust, and without admitting any wrongdoing.
Consequently, she announced on 24 June that she would resign as leader of the Centre Party. Matti Vanhanen was elected as the new party leader on 5 October, and he succeeded her as prime minister.
The police investigation into the leak concluded, on 19 December 2003, that Jäätteenmäki should be prosecuted for aiding or abetting Manninen in revealing state secrets in contravention of the law. However, on 19 March 2004, the Helsinki District Court acquitted Jäätteenmäki on all counts.
Member of European Parliament
Jäätteenmäki served as an MEP for the Centre Party in the European Parliament. In the 2004 European Parliament elections, she received over 140,000 votes, the highest individual tally and approximately 8% of all votes cast.
In April 2006, Jäätteenmäki announced to the Finnish media that she was going to take some time out of her parliamentary work due to breast cancer, but she returned to politics following her successful recovery. Despite offers to return to Finnish national politics, she declined to become a candidate in the Finnish Parliament elections in 2007. She was reelected to the European Parliament in the 2009 European Parliament elections with the second highest tally of votes in Finland after Timo Soini.[4]
She was reelected to the European Parliament for a third time and final term in 2014
Cabinets
References
- ^ "Council of State – Ministers of Justice". Valtioneuvosto.fi. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-44731-578-0
- ^ "Edustajamatrikkeli". Eduskunta. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- YLE. Retrieved 17 July 2010.[permanent dead link]