Tarja Halonen
| Tarja Halonen | |
|---|---|
Tarja Halonen in May 2011
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| 11th President of Finland | |
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In office 1 March 2000 – 1 March 2012 |
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| Prime Minister |
Paavo Lipponen Anneli Jäätteenmäki Matti Vanhanen Mari Kiviniemi Jyrki Katainen |
| Preceded by | Martti Ahtisaari |
| Succeeded by | Sauli Niinistö |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
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In office 13 April 1995 – 25 February 2000 |
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| Prime Minister | Paavo Lipponen |
| Preceded by | Paavo Rantanen |
| Succeeded by | Erkki Tuomioja |
| Minister of Justice | |
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In office 28 February 1990 – 26 April 1991 |
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| Prime Minister | Harri Holkeri |
| Preceded by | Matti Louekoski |
| Succeeded by | Hannele Pokka |
| Member of Finnish Parliament for Helsinki |
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In office 24 March 1979 – 29 February 2000 |
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| Preceded by | ??? |
| Succeeded by | Ilkka Taipale |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Tarja Kaarina Halonen 24 December 1943 Helsinki, Finland |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Pentti Arajärvi (m. 2000) |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | University of Helsinki |
| Religion | Lutheranism |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website |
Tarja Kaarina Halonen ([tɑrjɑ kɑːrinɑ hɑlonen]; born 24 December 1943) is a Finnish politician who was the 11th President of Finland, serving from 2000 to 2012. She was the first female head of state in Finland and while she was in office, in 2003 and 2010–11, Finland also had female prime ministers (Anneli Jäätteenmäki and Mari Kiviniemi). Halonen held two appointments as a minister and served as a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 until her election to the presidency. In addition to her political career, Halonen had a long and extensive career in trade unions and different non-governmental organizations. Her work for advancing human rights has been notable. She was, among other things, an early proponent of gay rights, chairing the main Finnish gay rights organization Seta in 1980–1981.
Halonen rose from humble beginnings, having lived through the wartime as a daughter of a single mother in the Kallio working-class neighborhood in Helsinki. She graduated from the University of Helsinki, where she studied law from 1963 to 1968. She was active in student politics and served as the Social Affairs Secretary and Organization Secretary of the National Union of Students from 1969 to 1970. In 1971 she joined the Social Democratic Party and worked as a lawyer in the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions until she was elected to parliament in 1979.
Halonen served in the parliament of Finland for six terms, from 1979 to 2000, representing the constituency of Helsinki. She also had a long career in the city council of Helsinki, serving there from 1977 to 1996. She started her campaign for the presidency at the beginning of 1999 after President Martti Ahtisaari announced that he would not stand for a second term in the office. She easily won her party's nomination, and eventually got 40% of the votes in the first round of the presidential elections, and 51.6% in the second, thus defeating the Centre Party's Esko Aho and becoming the 11th president of Finland.
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