Reijo Mauri Matias Pekkarinen (born 6 October 1947, in Kinnula,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

) is a Finnish politician, currently serving as a Member of European Parliament for Finland. He is the Centre Party of Finland (''Suomen Keskusta'') deputy and secretary, having served in various cabinet position in the Finnish government, including as Minister of Economic Affairs, Minister of Trade and Industry, and Minister of the Interior, as well as a member of parliament.Finpop.net interview, Vincent LeFrancoi

2003, accessed July 3, 2007 He is known by the nickname "The Parliament Terrier".

Early life and education

Pekkarinen was born into a farmer's family in Kinnula, to father Niilo Matti Pekkarinen (1922–2004), and mother Hellin Inkeri (née Kinnunen, 1929–2018). He graduated from high school in Kannus in 1968. Pekkarinen first became interested in politics as a student at the University of Jyväskylä in the late 1960s and early 1970s, from where he graduated with a

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Social Studies in 1974. He had long held an interest in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

and

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

and began to take part in party politics at the age of 24.

Career

Early political career & Minister of the Interior

In 1979 Pekkarinen was first elected to parliament in the Central Finland constituency, after which he was re-elected with an increased vote share in 1983, 1987, and 1991. After the 1991 election victory he was named Minister of the Interior in the Aho Cabinet. He served in this position for a full parliamentary term until 1995, when Aho's Centre Party lost the parliamentary majority to the Social Democrats in the

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

Minister of Trade and Industry

In 2003, Pekkarinen was named the Minister of Trade and Industry in the Jäätteenmäki Cabinet. As new Minister of Trade and Industry, he stated his goal to "promote entrepreneurship and economic growth and thus contribute to diminishing unemployment, ndto tackle large issues in the field of energy policy such as the carbon dioxide emissions trade between companies in the EU and the building a new nuclear power reactor in Finland", and has also stated an interest in preserving good relations with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In 2008 his title was changed to Minister of Economic Affairs, a position in which he remained until 2011. During his tenure as Minister of Trade and Industry, Pekkarinen was portrayed in the Finnish

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where s ...

tv series '' The Autocrats'' in the early 2000s.

Taxes

Mauri Pekkarinen suggested higher food VAT to collect more taxes in January 2014. Reduction of the food VAT was an election theme in

2007 Finnish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 18 March 2007. Early voting was possible from the 7–13 March. The 200 members of the Eduskunta were elected from 15 constituencies. Election themes included a reduction of income tax and VAT on foo ...

. Half of the promised food VAT reduction after the elections was implemented as a reduction of VAT on food served in restaurants. Pekkarinen's suggestion of 2014 did not include a cancellation of the reduced restaurant VAT.

Member of European Parliament

At the 2019 European Parliament Elections Pekkarinen was voted into the European Parliament with 68,487 votes.

Personal life

Pekkanen married his wife Raija in 1972. Together they have four children; two sons and two daughters. In addition to politics, Pekkarinen is an avid athlete, and is a noted

long distance runner Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensu ...

References

External links