Vapaavuori has been a Helsinki City Council member since 1997.[4] He has been a member of the Parliament since 2003, from the constituency of Helsinki, and he represents the National Coalition Party.[5] From 2011 to 2012 he was the chairman of the party's parliamentary group.[6] Vapaavuori was elected Mayor of Helsinki in 2017. His term started on 1 June 2017.[7] In November 2020 Vapaavuori announced that he will not be seeking re-election and plans to retire from politics.[8]
Vapaavuori was born into a bilingual family: his father, Panu, is a Finnish jurist and mother, Gun, was a Swedish teacher.[9] He is married to Outi Laitinen-Vapaavuori, a doctor of veterinary medicine.[4]