Sinikka Marjatta Luja-Penttilä (9 June 1924 – 18 November 2022) was a Finnish politician and writer. She represented

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 ...

from 1966 to 1983 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 ...

, and was the minister of social affairs and health from 1979 to 1982.

Biography

Luja-Penttilä was born on 9 June 1924 in Antrea, Finland, and moved to

Leppävaara Leppävaara () is a district of Espoo, a city in Finland. The Rantarata rail line and the Ring Road I, the busiest road in Finland, cross in Leppävaara, thus making it a major traffic hub in the Greater Helsinki region. The Sello Shopping Cent ...

, Finland with her family a few months after she was born. Her father was a union leader and her mother was a play director and newspaper writer; both were active in the Social Democratic Party (SDP). In 1945, Luja-Penttilä completed the national

matriculation examination A matriculation examination or matriculation exam is a university entrance examination, which is typically held towards the end of secondary school. After passing the examination, a student receives a School leaving qualification, school leaving ce ...

, and she later took courses at Holly Royde College in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England, in the 1960s. From 1945 to 1947, she worked as a

copy editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (" copy") to improve quality and readability, as well as ensuring that a text is free of errors in grammar, style, and accuracy. ''The Ch ...

for the commerce-oriented newspaper ''

Kauppalehti ''Kauppalehti'' () is a commerce-oriented newspaper published in Helsinki, Finland. The paper has been in circulation since 1898. History and profile ''Kauppalehti'' was established by the Finnish Businessmen's Association in 1898. Since 1919 th ...

'', and from 1947 to 1966, she was an editor at the publishing company Tammi. Luja-Penttilä became involved in politics starting in 1945 when she joined the local workers' association in Leppävaara. She was elected to the city council of

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

in 1957 and was a city councillor for 25 years. Luja-Penttilä was the secretary of the women's branch of the SDP in

, during a time when the party was divided over internal disagreements, and she was a supporter of

Väinö Leskinen Väinö Olavi Leskinen (8 March 1917, in Helsinki – 8 March 1972, in Helsinki) was a Finnish politician, minister and a member of the parliament from Social Democratic Party of Finland. He is perceived as one of the major Finnish social democr ...

, one of the SDP's leaders. In 1966, she was elected to the Parliament of Finland to represent the constituency of

. She was subsequently re-elected to Parliament four times, serving continuously until 1983. In Parliament, Luja-Penttilä worked on legislative reforms of the national childcare, health, and education systems in Finland, and chaired the Education and Culture parliamentary committee in 1978, becoming the first female SDP member of Parliament to chair a committee. She married Sulo Penttilä, a metalworker, in 1977. In May 1979, 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 ...

appointed Luja-Penttilä as the minister of social affairs and health in his second cabinet. She held the position until 1982 and worked on legislating improvements to the 1972 national healthcare law during her tenure. She also developed a proposal designed to reduce smoking in Finland by raising cigarette prices by five to 15 percent. Luja-Penttilä retired from Parliament in 1983. That same year, she published ''Venla'', a novel about a mother and daughter that was based on her own mother. From 1987 to 1993, she was the chair of the Central Association of Finnish Pensioners, and President Koivisto awarded her the honorary title of social counselor (''sosiaalineuvos'') in 1988. Luja-Penttilä died in

on 18 November 2022, at the age of 98.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luja-Penttilä, Sinikka 1924 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Finnish novelists 20th-century Finnish women politicians 20th-century Finnish women writers Finnish city councillors Members of the Parliament of Finland (1966–1970) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1970–1972) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1972–1975) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1975–1979) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1979–1983) Ministers of social affairs of Finland People from Espoo Social Democratic Party of Finland politicians Women local politicians Women government ministers of Finland Women members of the Parliament of Finland Writers from Uusimaa People from Kamennogorsk

Biography

See also

References