Teuvo Hakkarainen (born 12 April 1960, in

Viitasaari Viitasaari is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. There are all together 230 lakes in Viitasaari. Biggest lakes are Lake Keite ...

) is a Finnish politician and member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the 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 adop ...

, representing the

Finns Party The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. Th ...

. Before being elected to the European Parliament in the 2019 election, he had been a member of the

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

since 2011. On 10 June 2017, Hakkarainen was elected the Second Vice Chairman of the Finns Party. He served in the position until December 2017, when Hakkarainen resigned the post after he had sexually harassed a fellow member of parliament.

Views and comments

Sexual minorities

In May 2011, Hakkarainen was talking to junior high school students. When some students asked Hakkarainen's opinion about

gay adoption Same-sex adoption is the adoption of children by same-sex couples. It may take the form of a joint adoption by the couple, or of the adoption by one partner of the other's biological child ( stepchild adoption). Joint adoption by same-sex c ...

s, he told students that "if two gays have a child, the child would become a double gay", and said that he did so jokingly because he would rather answer questions regarding government talks. In October 2011, Hakkarainen told the tabloid ''

Ilta-Sanomat ''Ilta-Sanomat'' () is one of Finland's two prominent tabloid size evening newspaper and the second largest paper in the country. Its counterpart and biggest rival is '' Iltalehti''. According to the National Media Research done in 2019 ''Ilta- ...

'' that homosexuals, lesbians and Somalis ought to be deported to

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...

to form their own society.

Death penalty

On 16 December 2015, a member of Finnish Parliament, a member of

, Hakkarainen inquired Minister of Justice, also member of the same party, if

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

could be re-enacted, referring to the court case against two asylum seekers. They were suspected of 11 murders committed with terrorist intent in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, but were released.

Racism

In April 2011, Hakkarainen openly expressed his opinions towards

black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often ...

and Muslims in an interview with

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

. During the interview Hakkarainen used a pejorative word ''neekeriukko'' (which translates to male "

negro In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be ...

" or "

nigger In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cas ...

" and is considered as an offensive racial slur). He also made a mocking imitation of the

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...

call to prayer A call to prayer is a summons for participants of a faith to attend a group worship or to begin a required set of prayers. The call is one of the earliest forms of telecommunication, communicating to people across great distances. All religions ...

. The Ombudsman for Minorities of Finland, Eva Biaudet, asked the

Prosecutor General of Finland The Prosecutor General of Finland ( fi, Valtakunnansyyttäjä, sv, Riksåklagare) is the supreme prosecutor and head of the National Prosecution authority]The current Prosecutor General of Finland is Raija Toiviainen. The Prosecutor General dir ...

to investigate if Hakkarainen may be guilty in some crimes according to the criminal codex for example

incitement to ethnic or racial hatred Incitement to ethnic or racial hatred is a crime under the laws of several countries. Australia In Australia, the Racial Hatred Act 1995 amends the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, inserting Part IIA – Offensive Behaviour Because of Race, Colour ...

. Later The Finnish Police announced that they did not feel that comments made by Hakkarainen give cause for a criminal investigation. Police proposed to the Prosecutor General that no criminal investigation should be launched, saying that Hakkarainen's comments were an exercise of free speech, and not hate speech. Hakkarainen defended his statements by claiming that he comes from a rural background. In January 2017, Hakkarainen was convicted of incitement against an ethnic group.

2017 sexual harassment case

In December 2017, Hakkarainen assaulted MP Veera Ruoho in the parliament house. The incident occurred at the parliament café where Ruoho was having a break during a debate, while the Finns Party were celebrating their Christmas party. Ruoho was sitting on a table as Hakkarainen grabbed her neck from behind and forcefully kissed her in the face. According to Ruoho, she was scared for her neck and her mouth hurt as well. Hakkarainen was under the influence of alcohol. He was convicted of assault and sexual harassment for fines of 5,440 euros.

Personal life

He was a co-owner of Haka Wood saw mill in Viitasaari, but sold his shares shortly after being elected. ''Ilta-Sanomat'' reported that Haka-Wood has been granted 461 750 euros European union subsidies for a development project which has not be reimbursed fully emphasizing that Hakkarainen is eurosceptic – though most of the national subsidies are forbidden by EU regulations. Haka-Wood has and will receive during its development programme funds from

European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...

. Hakkarainen stated to Helsingin Sanomat that money is paid there and taken from there (the EU funds). Haka-Wood needs the subsidies for a new sorting line. Hakkarainen has worked as a sawmill consultant in Honduras,

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to ...

, Guatemala and

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by ...

. In 1986, Hakkarainen was a member in a gang that broke into the

Suomussalmi Suomussalmi () is a municipality in Finland and is 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 popu ...

church and stole 125

eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. R ...

s, 24 bottles of

sacramental wine Sacramental wine, Communion wine, altar wine, or wine for consecration is wine obtained from grapes and intended for use in celebration of the Eucharist (also referred to as the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion, among other names). It is usuall ...

and the money offerings. He was given a 9 months suspended sentence.

References

External links

Home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hakkarainen, Teuvo 1960 births Living people People from Viitasaari Finnish Pentecostals Finns Party politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (2011–15) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2015–19) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2019–23) MEPs for Finland 2019–2024 Politicians convicted of sex offences People convicted of burglary