Leena Kristiina Meri (born 12 April 1968) is a Finnish politician, representing the

Finns Party The Finns Party ( , PS; , Sannf), formerly known as the True Finns, is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The party achieved its electoral breakthro ...

in the Parliament of Finland. She has served in the Parliament since 2015 and in the City Council of

Hyvinkää Hyvinkää (; , ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Hyvinkää is situated in the northern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Hyvinkää is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in ...

since 2013. Meri run to the Parliament in the 2015 parliamentary election from the

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 ...

electoral district, but her 2,493 votes were not enough to get elected. However, as MP Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner left her seat to work in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

in May 2015, Meri took the vacated seat in the Finnish Parliament. In June 2017, Meri took part in the leadership election of the Finns Party, but finished third behind

Jussi Halla-aho Jussi Kristian Halla-aho (; born 27 April 1971) is a Finnish politician, currently serving as the Speaker of the Parliament of Finland since 2023. Halla-aho has served as a member of the Parliament of Finland from 2011 to 2014 and again since 201 ...

and

Sampo Terho Sampo Terho (born 20 September 1977 in Helsinki) is a Finnish politician who served as Minister for European Affairs, Culture and Sports. He was the chairman of Suomalaisuuden Liitto and was earlier a Member of the European Parliament. Life and ...

. The leadership election sparked resistance within the party and soon after the majority of its MPs left to form the

Blue Reform The Finnish Reform Movement (, Korj), previously known as Blue Reform (), was a Finnish conservative political party. It was founded by the 19 MPs who left the Finns Party on 13 June 2017 in protest against Jussi Halla-aho having been elected p ...

. After the split, Meri was chosen as the chair of the party's parliamentary group. In June 2023, she was appointed

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in the Orpo Cabinet.

Political views

Meri opposes humanitarian immigration, arguing that it leads to an increase in violent crimes. She has stated that "the appropriate number of asylum seekers is zero". Meri has also suggested that the proposed immigration policy of the National Coalition party, their future partner in government, to increase the number of work permits for non-EU nationals resembles the

Great Replacement The Great Replacement (), also known as replacement theory or great replacement theory, is a debunked white nationalist far-right conspiracy theoryPT71. espoused by French author Renaud Camus. The original theory states that, with the complicit ...

. The use of this term has been criticized as

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

by some media and the political opposition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meri, Leena 1968 births Living people Politicians from Helsinki Finns Party politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (2015–2019) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2019–2023) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2023–2027) 21st-century Finnish women politicians Women members of the Parliament of Finland University of Helsinki alumni Women government ministers of Finland Ministers of justice of Finland Female justice ministers