Margit Eskman
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Margit Marjatta Margareetta Eskman (29 April 1925 – 15 September 1990) was a Finnish politician. She was a member of 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 ...
from 1966 to 1975, representing Turku Province North (now
Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish language, Finnish and Swedish language, Swedish, ; historically ''Satacundia'') is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland ...
) as a member of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
. She was the Second Minister of Finance from February to May 1972, the first woman to hold that position. Eskman later served as the director-general of Finland's national social security agency and the National Board of Social Welfare.


Early life and education

Eskman was born on 29 April 1925 in
Hattula Hattula () is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Tavastia Proper region and until 2010 it was located in the province of Southern Finland. Hattula is almost completely surrounded by Hämeenlinna, only in the north it shares the border w ...
, Finland, and had to work in a shoe factory instead of attending secondary school. She later attended the in
Kauniainen Kauniainen (; ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Kauniainen is situated in the southern part of the Uusimaa region, and it is Enclave and exclave, enclaved by the City of Espoo. The population of Kauniainen ...
, graduating in 1945, and received a diploma in municipal government from the School of Social Sciences (now the
University of Tampere The University of Tampere (UTA) (, ) was a public university in Tampere, Finland that was merged with Tampere University of Technology to create the new Tampere University on 1 January 2019. The university offered undergraduate, postgraduate an ...
) in 1947. In 1966, Eskman received a degree in taxation from the School of Social Sciences.


Political career

Eskman's parents had been active within the Social Democratic Party (SDP) since she was young. After she completed her studies in municipal government in 1947, she worked in various roles in the municipal governments of
Hämeenkyrö Hämeenkyrö (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa regions of Finland, region, and is located from Tampere. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. Th ...
,
Mellilä Mellilä () is a former municipality of Finland. It was merged to the town of Loimaa on 1 January 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality had a population of 1,255 (20 ...
, and
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 ...
. In 1952, Eskman began working as the municipal secretary in
Kalvola Kalvola is a former municipality of Finland. Its seat was in Iittala. It was consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 2009-01-01. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region. The municipality had a popul ...
, a role she held until 1963 when she became the municipal secretary in
Aitolahti Aitolahti (; now forms the Tampere subdivision under the name Aito) is a former municipality in Pirkanmaa region, Finland. It was consolidated in 1966 with Tampere, and at the same time Tampere got new districts: Sorila, Nurmi and Aitoniemi. Un ...
. In 1953, she became involved with the women's branch of the SDP. She married Martti Eskman, who was a
social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...
director, in 1956. From 1964 to 1972, she was the social secretary of the city of
Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...
. Eskman was elected to the Parliament of Finland in 1966 to represent the constituency of Turku Province North (now
Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish language, Finnish and Swedish language, Swedish, ; historically ''Satacundia'') is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland ...
) as a member of the SDP. During her time in Parliament, she sat on the committees on finance, legal affairs, and agriculture and forestry, and frequently worked on economic and tax legislation. From February to May 1970, Eskman was a member of prime minister
Mauno Koivisto Mauno Henrik Koivisto (, 25 November 1923 – 12 May 2017) was a Finnish politician who served as the ninth president of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as the country's prime minister twice, from 1968 to 1970 and again from 1979 to 19 ...
's cabinet as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. She was Second Minister of Finance in Rafael Paasio's second cabinet from February to May 1972, and was the first woman to hold that position. As the second minister of finance, Eskman worked on
collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and labour rights, rights for ...
policies and helped implement the separation of taxes for married couples in Finland. She is described in ''
The National Biography of Finland ''Suomen kansallisbiografia'' () is a collection of more than 6,000 biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; i ...
'' as one of the most important female politicians of the SDP during the 1970s. She resigned her ministerial position in 1972 to become the director-general of
Kela Kela or KELA may refer to: * KelA, a sports club in Kellokoski, Finland * KELA (AM), a radio station (1470 AM) licensed to Centralia-Chehalis, Washington, United States * Kela (Finnish institution), the Finnish social security agency * Kela (tribe) ...
, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. She was the first female director-general of the institution and remained in the position for four years. She was elected as the vice president of the SDP in 1972, and was the second woman to hold a leadership position in the party, after
Tyyne Leivo-Larsson Tyyne Lilja Leivo-Larsson (née Leivo; 3 March 1902 Uusikirkko – 1 August 1977 Helsinki) was a Finnish Ambassador and MP. She was the first Finnish woman to serve as Ambassador in Oslo from 1958 to 1966 and as Envoy to Reykjavík in 1958–1964 ...
. In 1976, Eskman became the director-general of Finland's National Board of Social Welfare, succeeding
Alli Lahtinen Alli Kyllikki Lahtinen ( Ilomäki; 11 April 1926 – 22 May 1976) was a Finnish politician who was the Minister of Social Affairs and Health (Finland), Minister of Social Affairs and Health from 1971 to 1972 and from June to November 1975. Biogr ...
; she was the second director-general of the board since its creation in 1968. She retired in 1984 due to health issues.


Death

Eskman died at Satakunta Central Hospital in Pori on 15 September 1990 after a long illness, at the age of 65.


See also

*
List of Cabinet Ministers from Finland by ministerial portfolio This is a list of Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is d ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eskman, Margit 1925 births 1990 deaths People from Hattula Social Democratic Party of Finland politicians Government ministers of Finland Members of the Parliament of Finland (1966–1970) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1970–1972) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1972–1975) Women government ministers of Finland Women members of the Parliament of Finland 20th-century Finnish women politicians University of Tampere alumni