Tarja Halonen

Tarja Halonen (born December 24, 1943, Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish politician who served as president of Finland (2000–12), the first woman elected to that office.

As a student at the University of Helsinki, Halonen served (1969–70) as social affairs secretary and general secretary of the National Union of Finnish Students. After earning a degree in law in 1970, she began her professional career as an attorney with the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions. Halonen then entered politics, serving in 1974–75 as parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Kalevi Sorsa. Halonen later became chair of the Finnish National Organization for Sexual Equality. From 1977 to 1996 she was a member of the Helsinki City Council, and in 1979 she was elected to parliament as a candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

In parliament Halonen broadened her experience in domestic and international politics by holding a number of cabinet posts. Before her appointment as foreign affairs minister in 1995, she served as minister of social affairs and health (1987–90), minister for Nordic cooperation (1989–91), and minister of justice (1990–91). In 2000 she was nominated as the SDP candidate for president. After topping the poll in the first round of balloting and winning the required 50 percent threshold to avoid a runoff, she narrowly defeated former prime minister Esko Aho of the Centre Party (51.6 percent to 48.4 percent) on February 6, 2000.

On March 1, 2000, the day of Halonen’s inauguration as president, a new constitution for Finland went into effect that reduced the powers of the president and emphasized the position of parliament as the strongest body in the government. The president, however, retained considerable powers in foreign policy, the area of Halonen’s greatest strength. As president, Halonen continued Finland’s pro-European Union policies, but she opposed the idea of Finnish membership in NATO. She won reelection in 2006 when she narrowly defeated Sauli Niinistö of the National Coalition Party in the second round of balloting. In 2010 Halonen was appointed cochair of the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, which presented its recommendations two years later. Barred by law from seeking a third term as president, Halonen left office in 2012 and was succeeded by Niinistö.