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Ville Skinnari | |
|---|---|
 Skinnari in 2019 | |
| Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade | |
| In office 6 June 2019 – 20 June 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Antti Rinne Sanna Marin |
| Preceded by | Anne-Mari Virolainen |
| Succeeded by | Ville Tavio |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1974-02-21)21 February 1974 (age 51) Lahti,Päijät-Häme, Finland |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
Ville Skinnari (born 21 February 1974) is a Finnish politician of theSocial Democratic Party who has been serving asMinister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade in thecabinet ofPrime MinisterAntti Rinne and then in thecabinet of Prime MinisterSanna Marin from 2019 to 2023.
Skinnari is a former professionalice hockey player who played in theFinnish Elite League for the club Reipas Lahti, in the Netherlands for the clubDordrecht Lions, and for the Coventry clubSolihull Blaze in theBritish National League.[1]
Before devoting his work to politics full time, Ville Skinnari has worked in various international positions in the field of international relations, business development, legal affairs, and trade, including a Helsinki based Attorney Office Lexia Ltd., technology start up in London, Japanese trading house Marubeni in Tokyo as well as working with Nokia Mobile Phone’s service business development as a subcontractor. Mr. Skinnari has also worked as a freelance journalist. From 1995 until 1999, Skinnari worked as a freelance journalist in Japan, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
He completed his military service at the Finnish Military Sports School (1993) and achieved the rank of Second Lieutenant in 2016.
Skinnari was elected to theFinnish Parliament for theSocial Democratic Party in 2015, from the constituency ofHäme (Tavastia).[2] In 2019 he was re-elected to the parliament for the term2019–2023.[3]
Is his first season 2015-2019 his parliamentary roles included Memberships in the Economic Committee, the Constitutional Committee and the Nordic Council. He also acted as a Chair of the Parliament's Friendship Groups for Japan, Gulf Region and Central Asia.
Skinnari was appointedMinister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade in thecabinet ofPrime MinisterAntti Rinne in 2019.[2][4] After the collapse of the cabinet in December 2019, Skinnari continued in the same position in the followingMarin Cabinet.[5]
Currently in the Finnish Parliament, he is a member of Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Member of the Constitutional Committee and a Deputy member of the Grand Committee (EU-affairs). Mr. Skinnari is also a Member of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. He also acts as a Chair of the Parliament's Friendship Groups for Gulf Region, China and Central Asia.
Mr. Skinnari has also been an active speaker at the international level, participating in various conferences and summits after leaving his position as a minister in 2023.
| International | |
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| National | |
