Mauri Pekkarinen

Mauri Pekkarinen
Mauri Pekkarinen
	Mauri Pekkarinen in 2010.
Minister of Economic Affairs
	In office; 1 January 2008 – 22 June 2011
Prime Minister	Matti Vanhanen; Mari Kiviniemi
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Jyri Häkämies
Minister of Trade and Industry
	In office; 17 April 2003 – 1 January 2008
Prime Minister	Anneli Jäätteenmäki; Matti Vanhanen
Preceded by	Sinikka Mönkäre
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Minister of the Interior
	In office; 26 April 1991 – 13 April 1995
Prime Minister	Esko Aho
Preceded by	Jarmo Rantanen
Succeeded by	Jan-Erik Enestam
Member of European Parliament
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 2 July 2019
Constituency	Finland
Member of Finnish Parliament
	In office; 24 March 1979 – 16 April 2019
Constituency	Central Finland
Personal details
Born	6 October 1947 (age 76); Kinnula, Finland
Political party	Centre Party
Spouse	Raija Pekkarinen (m. 1972)
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Jyväskylä

Reijo Mauri Matias Pekkarinen (born 6 October 1947, in Kinnula, Finland) is a Finnish politician, currently serving as a Member of European Parliament for Finland. He is the Centre Party of Finland (Suomen Keskusta) deputy and secretary, having served in various cabinet position in the Finnish government, including as Minister of Economic Affairs, Minister of Trade and Industry, and Minister of the Interior, as well as a member of parliament.^[3] He is known by the nickname "The Parliament Terrier".

Early life and education

Pekkarinen was born into a farmer's family in Kinnula, to father Niilo Matti Pekkarinen (1922–2004), and mother Hellin Inkeri (née Kinnunen, 1929–2018).^[4]^[5] He graduated from high school in Kannus in 1968.

Pekkarinen first became interested in politics as a student at the University of Jyväskylä in the late 1960s and early 1970s, from where he graduated with a Master's in Social Studies in 1974.^[4] He had long held an interest in economics and society and began to take part in party politics at the age of 24.

Career

Early political career & Minister of the Interior

In 1979 Pekkarinen was first elected to parliament in the Central Finland constituency, after which he was re-elected with an increased vote share in 1983, 1987, and 1991.

After the 1991 election victory he was named Minister of the Interior in the Aho Cabinet. He served in this position for a full parliamentary term until 1995, when Aho's Centre Party lost the parliamentary majority to the Social Democrats in the parliamentary elections.

Minister of Trade and Industry

In 2003, Pekkarinen was named the Minister of Trade and Industry in the Jäätteenmäki Cabinet. As new Minister of Trade and Industry, he stated his goal to "promote entrepreneurship and economic growth and thus contribute to diminishing unemployment, [and] to tackle large issues in the field of energy policy such as the carbon dioxide emissions trade between companies in the EU and the building a new nuclear power reactor in Finland",^[3] and has also stated an interest in preserving good relations with France. In 2008 his title was changed to Minister of Economic Affairs, a position in which he remained until 2011.^[6]

During his tenure as Minister of Trade and Industry, Pekkarinen was portrayed in the Finnish political satire tv series The Autocrats in the early 2000s.

Taxes

Mauri Pekkarinen suggested higher food VAT to collect more taxes in January 2014. Reduction of the food VAT was an election theme in 2007 Finnish parliamentary election. Half of the promised food VAT reduction after the elections was implemented as a reduction of VAT on food served in restaurants. Pekkarinen's suggestion of 2014 did not include a cancellation of the reduced restaurant VAT.^[7] ^[8]

Member of European Parliament

At the 2019 European Parliament Elections Pekkarinen was voted into the European Parliament with 68,487 votes.

Personal life

Pekkanen married his wife Raija in 1972. Together they have four children; two sons and two daughters.

In addition to politics, Pekkarinen is an avid athlete, and is a noted long distance runner.^[9]

References

^ "Finnish Government - Ministers of Trade and Industry". Valtioneuvosto.fi. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
^ "Council of State - Ministers of Interior". Valtioneuvosto.fi. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
^ ^a ^b Finpop.net interview, Vincent LeFrancois [1], 2003, accessed July 3, 2007
^ ^a ^b Eduskunta. "Mauri Pekkarinen". eduskunta.fi (in Finnish). Eduskunta. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
^ "Inkeri Pekkarisen kuolinilmoitus" (in Finnish). Keskisuomalainen. 30 December 2018. p. 44. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
^ Minister of Economic Affairs – Finnish Government
^ VAT won't increase next year, says Finance Ministry yle 27.1.2014
^ VM:n Pekkarinen: Yleinen alv ei nouse ensi vuonna yle 27.1.2014
^ "Mauri Pekkarinen".