(formerly ; born 23 October 1981) is a Finnish politician who has served as

Minister for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

under Prime Minister

Petteri Orpo Antti Petteri Orpo (; born 3 November 1969) is a Finland, Finnish politician currently serving as the prime minister of Finland since 2023 and as the leader of the National Coalition Party since 2016. He briefly served as speaker of the Parliame ...

since 2023. A member of the

National Coalition Party The National Coalition Party (NCP; , Kok; , Saml) is a liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in Finland, political party in Finland. It is the current governing political party of Finland. Founded in 1918, the ...

(NCP), she has represented the constituency of

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; , ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, Helsinki, alo ...

in the

Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral and Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that ...

since 2014. In the 2021 municipal election she collected the second-highest number of votes in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and was elected a member of its city council.

Early life

As a child, Valtonen lived with her family in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, West Germany; she completed A-levels (Reifeprüfung diploma) at the

Deutsche Schule Helsinki Deutsche Schule Helsinki (DSH; German language, German for "German school Helsinki", , ) is a partly bilingual, German and Finnish-speaking school in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is a member of the German Schools Abroad Network DAS. It wa ...

Education

Valtonen holds a master's degree in both technology and

financial economics Financial economics is the branch of economics characterized by a "concentration on monetary activities", in which "money of one type or another is likely to appear on ''both sides'' of a trade".William F. Sharpe"Financial Economics", in Its co ...

from the

Helsinki University of Technology Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; ; , HUT in international usage) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the Helsinki metropolitan area, and it was one of the three universities from which the modern d ...

and

Helsinki School of Economics The Aalto University School of Business (; ), is the largest business school in Finland. Founded in 1911, it is the second oldest business school in Finland and one of the oldest business schools in the Nordic countries. The school became part of ...

. She is a shareholder in several technology start-ups; she chaired the board of the pro free-market

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

Libera from 2015 to 2021.

Career

Prior to entering politics in 2014, Valtonen spent 10 years in

investment banking Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by und ...

, as a director at

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Sco ...

and as a senior analyst at

Nordea Nordea Bank Abp, commonly referred to as Nordea, is a Nordic financial services group operating in northern Europe with headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. The name is a blend of the words "Nordic" and "idea". The Nordic countries are considered ...

. She has developed a model for transforming the

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...

into a digital sharing economy, called the Life Account. In 2018, she participated in a

Bilderberg Meeting The Bilderberg Meeting (also known as the "Bilderberg Group", "Bilderberg Conference" or "Bilderberg Club") is an annual off-the-record forum established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. In April 2016, Valtonen announced her candidacy for the leadership of the National Coalition Party. In the first round of the leadership election on 11 June 2016 she received 15% of the vote and thus failed to be elected. In September 2020, Valtonen was elected as a new deputy chair of the National Coalition Party. In the parliamentary elections of 2023, Valtonen raised the largest election campaign budget, 179,000 euros. Her biggest funders were Chaim Poju Zabludowicz and

Björn Wahlroos Björn Arne Christer "Nalle" Wahlroos (born 10 October 1952) is a Finnish banker, investor, and the former chairman of the Board in Sampo Group, Nordea and UPM-Kymmene. Before switching to banking, Wahlroos worked as a professor at the Hanke ...

Minister of Foreign Affairs

In June 2023, she was appointed

in the Orpo Cabinet. In January 2024, 79 Finnish diplomats signed a letter to Valtonen, criticising the official response to the Israeli attacks on Gaza. Valtonen and her Nordic counterparts signed a joint letter in late October 2024 condemning Israel's planned bill that would seek to ban the

UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, pronounced ) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fl ...

from operating in the country and in effect the Palestinian areas. Furthermore, they urged the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

to reconsider passing the bill. In April 2025, Valtonen met

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

. Valtonen and Rubio discussed icebreaker cooperation between Finland and the United States. They also had a long discussion about Ukraine and Russia.

Writing

Valtonen has co-authored several reports on economics and the society such as "The Future of the Euro – The alternatives for Finland" (2014) and "The Life Account – A Social Security Reform" (2013). In 2018, she published her book (''Victory of Freedom'', Otava), on how to reform the Nordic welfare model and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Other activities

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decis ...

(ECFR), Member of the Council (since 2023)

Personal life

In September 2020, Valtonen filed for divorce from Jukka Lepomäki; in April 2021 she announced that she had changed her surname back to her maiden name. Valtonen and Lepomäki had two children together.

Honours

* :

Royal Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order o ...

, Commander Grand Cross (23 April 2024)

References

External links

*
Valtonen on the website of the Parliament of Finland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valtonen, Elina 1981 births Living people Politicians from Helsinki National Coalition Party politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (2011–2015) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2015–2019) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2019–2023) 21st-century Finnish women politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (2023–2027) Women government ministers of Finland Women members of the Parliament of Finland Ministers for foreign affairs of Finland Female foreign ministers Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star