Merja Kyllönen (born 25 January 1977) is a Finnish politician and

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) from

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. She is a member of the Left Alliance, part of The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL. She was the Minister of Transport in Katainen Cabinet 2011–2014. From 2014 to 2019 she was a

(MEP), representing Finland. In 2018, Kyllönen was the candidate of the Left Alliance in the Finnish presidential election. In the election, Kyllönen placed seventh with 3 percent of the votes, while the incumbent president Sauli Niinistö went on to secure his second term with a majority of votes.

Early career

Merja Kyllönen graduated as a biomedical

laboratory technician A laboratory technician or (informally) lab tech is a person who works in a laboratory performing analytical or experimental procedures, maintaining laboratory equipment. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first use of the term labo ...

from the Oulu Polytechnic in

Suomussalmi Suomussalmi () is a municipality in Finland located in the Kainuu region about northeast of Kajaani, the capital of Kainuu and south of Kuusamo. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population ...

Kainuu Kainuu (), also historically known as Cajania (), is one of the 19 regions of Finland (''maakunta'' / ''landskap''). Kainuu borders the regions of North Ostrobothnia, North Savo and North Karelia. In the east, it also borders Russia (Republic o ...

in 2000. While working as a laboratory officer and a technical assistant at a pharmacy, Kyllönen “continued her career in politics in the Council of the

region, among the representatives of Tradeka (2004–2011), and in the Parliament of Finland beginning in 2003.” She was serving at different capacities including “as a member of the Chancellery Commission and the Employment and Equality Committee. She was appointed to the executive board of the parliamentary group of the Left Alliance.” Kyllönen brought far-reaching reforms in the transport sector during her tenure as the Minister of Transport in the Katainen Cabinet. These include “a toll system favoring public transport and decreasing the alcohol level limit for driving under influence” and government resolution to convert the Helsinki-Malmi Airport into a residential area.

Parliamentary service

*Member, Committee on Transport and Tourism *Member, Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee Kyllönen, as a rapporteur, supported the Fourth Railway Package. Kyllönen served as rapporteur for the controversial directive on posted drivers, meant to update the Posted Workers Directive 1996 and related acts, amendments on which received very narrow and surprise majorities, including one on whether to ensure conditions of workers' accommodation and the reimbursement of expenditures related to their posting assignment, where over 50 MEPs changed their vote on the record after the result was determined. The text was eventually approved in April 2019, the fourth session which debated or voted on the subject. In March 2019, Kyllönen was the recipient of the Transport and Tourism Award at ''The Parliament Magazines annual MEP Awards.

References

1977 births Living people People from Suomussalmi Left Alliance (Finland) politicians Ministers of transport and public works of Finland Members of the Parliament of Finland (2007–2011) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2011–2015) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2019–2023) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2023–2027) MEPs for Finland 2014–2019 21st-century women MEPs for Finland Left Alliance (Finland) MEPs Women government ministers of Finland Women members of the Parliament of Finland Candidates for President of Finland MEPs for Finland 2024–2029 {{Finland-MEP-stub