31 Facts About Matti Vanhanen

Matti Taneli Vanhanen is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010.

Matti Vanhanen was Chairman of the Centre Party and President of the European Council in 2006.

Matti Vanhanen studied political science at the University of Helsinki, graduating as a Master of Social Sciences in 1989.

Matti Vanhanen was chairman of the Centre Party Youth League from 1980 to 1983.

Matti Vanhanen served as a member of the Espoo City Council from 1981 to 1984.

Matti Vanhanen was an editor and editor-in-chief at the local newspaper Kehasanomat.

Matti Vanhanen was elected to the Finnish Parliament in 1991.

For instance, Matti Vanhanen spoke against the building of a fifth nuclear power plant in 1992, at the same time as serving on the board of electricity corporation Fortum.

Matti Vanhanen served as Chairman of the Youth Foundation from 1998 to 2003 and Deputy chairman from 1981 to 1997.

Matti Vanhanen resigned from the Constitutional Convention in 2003 when he became Minister of Defense in the cabinet of Prime Minister Anneli Jaatteenmaki.

Matti Vanhanen expressed his support for Niinisto in the runoff election against his coalition partner's candidate Halonen.

Matti Vanhanen received 25,000 euros for his presidential election campaign in 2006 from Ahti Vilppula via his company Helsingin Mekaanikkotalo.

Matti Vanhanen's cabinet proposed raising the retirement age from 63 to 65 years.

Matti Vanhanen's proposal was fiercely opposed by the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, which is affiliated with the SDP.

In December 2009, Matti Vanhanen announced that he would step down as chair of the Centre Party at its June 2010 convention.

In September 2010 Matti Vanhanen started as the head of the Family Business Network Finland and left the parliament.

In 2010, the Finnish police investigated whether Matti 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 Matti Vanhanen's presidential campaign.

In November 2014, Matti Vanhanen announced that he would leave the Family Business Network.

Matti Vanhanen was elected to the parliament in the 2015 elections with 11,304 personal votes.

In June 2015, Matti Vanhanen was chosen as the chairman of the Centre Party parliamentary group.

In March 2016, Matti Vanhanen announced that he is seeking Centre Party's candidacy in 2018 presidential election.

Matti 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.

On 23 June 2016, Matti Vanhanen was chosen as the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Parliament.

In June 2020, after Katri Kulmuni's resignation, Matti Vanhanen was appointed Minister of Finance.

In May 2021 Matti Vanhanen announced his resignation from the post to hand it over to party chair Annika Saarikko.

Matti Vanhanen has been characterised as uncharismatic and even boring, which he has attempted to turn to his advantage in tense political situations.

Matti Vanhanen is known for being a teetotaler, saying that he does not like the taste of alcohol.

Matti Vanhanen was against the independence movement in the Baltic States during the 1980s.

Matti Vanhanen said he was impressed of the progress the country has made in dealing with difficult issues.

Matti Vanhanen sued the book's publisher for invasion of privacy in March 2007, following the March elections.

Matti Vanhanen has two homes; he lives permanently in Lepsama, a rural village in the Nurmijarvi municipality, but on weekends in the town of Rauma.