Markku Uusipaavalniemi was born on 23 November 1966 and is a Finnish curler and former politician.
11 Facts About Markku Uusipaavalniemi
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Markku Uusipaavalniemi is a two-time World Curling Championships bronze medalist and two-time European Curling Championships bronze medalist.
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Also in 2005, Markku Uusipaavalniemi won the first ever European Mixed Curling Championship with teammates Kirsi Nykanen, Teemu Salo and Tiina Kautonen in Andorra.
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Two weeks before the start of the 2006 World Men's Curling Championship in Lowell, Massachusetts, Markku Uusipaavalniemi suffered a wrist injury that forced him to miss the team's first three games of the competition.
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Markku Uusipaavalniemi recovered enough to start playing in the fourth game, where he skipped and threw second rocks.
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Markku Uusipaavalniemi returned to the 2007 Ford World Men's Curling Championship but his team got off to a rough start, losing their first two games and stringing together back-to-back wins only twice.
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Markku Uusipaavalniemi admitted that his recent campaign for Finnish parliament had forced him to cut back on curling practice time, perhaps contributing to the team's early struggles.
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On 20 September 2006 Markku Uusipaavalniemi announced his candidacy for Finnish parliament in the 2007 election for the Centre Party.
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Markku Uusipaavalniemi was elected along with three other members of his party from the Uusimaa constituency.
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Markku Uusipaavalniemi voted against the further privatization of government owned companies as well as against the Lisbon treaty, both of which were supported by the party.
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On 11 November 2010 Markku Uusipaavalniemi defected from the Centre Party and joined the ranks of the True Finns Party.