Erkki Matti Vanhala (born 31 January 1946 in Helsinki, died 29 September 2004) was an influential Finnish economist. He was Governor of the Bank of Finland from June 1998 until July 2004. Vanhala graduated in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. He worked from 1968 to 1970 in the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

, and started as a researcher in the

Bank of Finland The Bank of Finland (, ) is the national central bank for Finland within the Eurosystem. It was the Finnish central bank from 1865 to 1998, issuing the markka. It views itself as the fourth oldest surviving central bank in the world, after Swed ...

in 1970. In 1998 he succeeded

Sirkka Hämäläinen Sirkka Aune-Marjatta Hämäläinen (born 8 May 1939 in Riihimäki) is a Finnish economist who served as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2003. She previously served as the governor of the Bank of Finland fr ...

as the Governor of Bank of Finland and also as a member of the

Governing Council of the European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central component of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's most important central banks wi ...

. In 1999 he was diagnosed with

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the bladder. These cells can grow to form a tumor, which eventually spreads, damaging the bladder and other organs. Most people with bladder cancer are diagnosed after noticing blood in thei ...

. He was twice on leave due to the prolonged illness. He retired in July 2004. Matti Vanhala died on 29 September 2004 after a long illness.

References

1946 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Finnish economists Businesspeople from Helsinki Governors of the Bank of Finland {{Finland-economist-stub