Matti Taneli Vanhanen (pronounced[ˈmɑtːiˈʋɑnhɑnen]ⓘ; born 4 November 1955) is a Finnish politician who served asPrime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010. He was also Chairman of theCentre Party in 2006. In his earlier career, he was a journalist. Vanhanen is the son of professorTatu Vanhanen and Anni Tiihonen.
He was chairman of the Centre Party Youth League from 1980 to 1983. He also served as a member of theEspoo City Council from 1981 to 1984. Vanhanen used to work as a journalist. He was an editor (1985–1988) and editor-in-chief (1988–1991) at the local newspaperKehäsanomat. In a column inSuomenmaa (the Centre Party's organ), he strongly condemned theBaltic Star pro-Estonian independence demonstration held in Helsinki in July 1985, calling the demonstration "provocative".[4]
Vanhanen (third from right) visited theGDR in 1988.
Vanhanen was elected to theFinnish Parliament (Eduskunta) in 1991.[5] As a member of Parliament he was interested in ecological issues. For instance, Vanhanen spoke against the building of a fifthnuclear power plant in 1992, at the same time as serving on the board of electricity corporationFortum. He served on the Parliamentary Environment Committee 1991–1995, and was chair of the Parliamentary Grand Committee 2000–2001. He was vice-chair of the Centre Party Parliamentary group 1994–2001, and Deputy Chairman of the Centre Party 2000–2003.
Vanhanen served as Chairman of the Youth Foundation from 1998 to 2003 and deputy chairman from 1981 to 1997. The prosecution claims the Youth Foundation donated under the direction of Centre Party MPAntti Kaikkonen funding of over 90,000 euros for his own campaign and that of other Centre Party MPs, including Matti Vanhanen. Prosecutors say this contravened the Foundation's own rules and laws governing such institutions.[7]
Vanhanen resigned from the Constitutional Convention in 2003 when he became Minister of Defence in the cabinet of Prime MinisterAnneli Jäätteenmäki. After Jäätteenmäki's resignation, Vanhanenwas elected Prime Minister andhis first cabinet was formed.
As a politician, Vanhanen is considered to be part of the liberal wing of the old agrarian Central Party, along with the two other Party ministers fromUusimaa region. His government cut the top state income tax rate from 35.5% to 33.5% in 2005 and 32.5% in 2006 (resulting in approximately 55% total tax rate after local government and social security taxes). The corporate tax rate was also lowered to 26% and capital gains to 28% (both formerly 29%), though at the same time, dividends were partially made taxable.
The presidential election, and co-operation between the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party, proved to be a major strain on the government coalition between the Centre Party and the Social Democrats. The flashpoint came in March, when the Centre Party demanded nationalagricultural subsidies to cover farmers' losses when the Finnish exception in the European Union'sCommon Agricultural Policy was about to expire. At the end of the crisis, Vanhanen told his parliamentary group that taxpayers would cover ninety per cent or about 100 million euros in losses.
Matti Vanhanen received 25,000 euros for his presidential election campaign in 2006 fromAhti Vilppula via his company Helsingin Mekaanikkotalo. Mekaanikkotalo is owned by Procomex inLuxembourg and further by Kilbrin Investments Limited in theVirgin Islands.[8] In 2009, it was found out that this finance was not included in the finance announcement.
A scandal involving Vanhanen's second cabinet began rolling in May 2008, after the leader of the Centre Party's parliamentary groupTimo Kalli said publicly that he would not reveal information about hiscampaign finances, because such disclosure was not required. After a media backlash, Kalli gave up his secrecy and listed a group of businessmen known as "Kehittyvien maakuntien Suomi" (KMS; in English, "The Finland of Developing Regions"), who had financed the Centre Party. Centre Party links with KMS were suspected, as one address of the organisation belonged to a party official. It was later revealed that the organisation had been formed in the Centre Party's general secretary's office.
After the Russian response to the Georgian invasion of South Ossetia, Vanhanen said that Finland would rethink its security.[9]
In December 2009, Vanhanen announced that he would step down as chair of the Centre Party at its June 2010 convention.Mari Kiviniemi was chosen to the position and she also inherited the position as prime minister.[14] In September 2010 Vanhanen started as the head of the Family Business Network Finland and left the parliament.[15]
In 2010, the Finnish police investigated whether Vanhanen had been wrong not to disqualify himself in certain cabinet decisions on financial contributions to an organisation affiliated with the Centre Party, which had previously financed Vanhanen's presidential campaign. Because the charges concerned Vanhanen's actions while in office, the decision whether he should be prosecuted fell to the Constitutional Law Committee of theFinnish Parliament. The Committee decided not to prosecute Vanhanen.
In November 2014, Vanhanen announced that he would leave the Family Business Network.[16] He was elected to the parliament in the 2015 elections with 11,304 personal votes.[17] In June 2015, Vanhanen was chosen as the chairman of the Centre Party parliamentary group.[18]
In March 2016, Vanhanen announced that he is seeking Centre Party's candidacy in 2018presidential election.[19][20] As no challengers appeared within the party, Vanhanen was the sole candidate in June's party conference and was confirmed as the Centre Party's candidate in the presidential election.[21][22] Vanhanen said that his candidacy is motivated by the support he felt he had around the country during his last campaign and the will to improve the security situation in the areas surrounding Finland.[23] Following the nomination, Vanhanen left his duties as the chairman of the parliamentary group in order to focus on global affairs.[24] On 23 June 2016, Vanhanen was chosen as the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Parliament.[25] In the first round of the presidential election, Vanhanen placed fifth with 4.1 percent of the votes, while the incumbent presidentSauli Niinistö went on to secure his second term with a majority of votes.[26]
In June 2020, afterKatri Kulmuni's resignation, Vanhanen was appointed Minister of Finance. Though he initially didn't want to accept the offer, he changed his mind and accepted out of a sense of duty.[28] In May 2021 Vanhanen announced his resignation from the post to hand it over to party chairAnnika Saarikko.[29]
In 2016, Vanhanen said that Finland's membership inNATO was a true option.[30] In 2022, Vanhanen supported Finland's membership in NATO.[31] In 2023, as the Speaker of the Parliament of Finland he signed the parliament's approval to join the military alliance.[32]
Vanhanen meeting with European Commission PresidentJosé Manuel Barroso, Indian Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security PolicyJavier Solana, EU–India Summit in Helsinki on 13 October 2006The Nordic prime ministers meeting in Denmark, 2010. From left to right: Fredrik Reinfeldt (Sweden), Jens Stoltenberg (Norway), Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (Iceland), Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Denmark), Matti Vanhanen (Finland).Vanhanen and the 35th President of BrazilLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Vanhanen has been characterised asuncharismatic and even boring, which he has attempted to turn to his advantage in tense political situations. Vanhanen is known for being ateetotaler, saying that he does not like the taste of alcohol.[33]
Matti Vanhanen was against the independence movement in theBaltic States during the 1980s. In his column in Suomenmaa in 1985, Vanhanen condemned the Baltic independence movement both for "wishing to change theSoviet system" and for "indifference towards the postSecond World War reality." Vanhanen claimed that the difference between capitalism and socialism was not significant; and that instead of being concerned about theSoviet system, it would be better to concentrate, for example, on the research ofFinno-Ugric languages.[34]
In 2009, he visited China and credited the government for beingsystematic, as well as being able to place clear priorities and to mobilise the required resources to accomplish them. In his opinion, the Western world ought to note the example of China, where policies are implemented rapidly and effectively.[35] He said he was impressed by the progress the country has made in dealing with difficult issues.[36]
Vanhanen married Merja Vanhanen in 1985. They have two children: Annastiina (born 1991) and Juhana (born 1994). Matti Vanhanen and Merja Vanhanen unexpectedly announced their divorce on 6 April 2005.
After his divorce, he datedSusan Kuronen (she later changed her last name to Ruusunen).[37][38] In February 2007, Kuronen released a tell-all bookThe Prime Minister's Bride, which actually boosted the prime minister's popularity with the public. Tens of thousands of Finns signed anonline petition against the book, and some bookstores refused to put it on the shelf.[39] Vanhanen sued the book's publisher (but not Kuronen) for invasion of privacy in March 2007, following the March elections. In 2010 theSupreme Court of Finland upheld the privacy violation conviction against Susan Ruusunen and her publisher.[40]
After ending his dating relationship with Kuronen (Ruusunen), Vanhanen got engaged to Sirkka Mertala in 2009. This relationship ended in 2010.[41]
In a 2006 book commissioned for the presidential elections,Se on ihan Matti, Vanhanen compared the Finnishtabloid press to theKGB andStasi, formerSoviet Union andEast German secret police agencies.[42]
Vanhanen has two homes; he lives permanently inLepsämä, a rural village in theNurmijärvi municipality, but on weekends in the town ofRauma.[43]
Vanhanen is about 198 centimetres (6 feet 6 inches). He isleft-handed.[44]
_-_Commander_Grand_Cross.svg)
