1. Mauri Pekkarinen is the Centre Party of Finland 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.
Mauri Pekkarinen is known by the nickname "The Parliament Terrier".
Mauri Pekkarinen graduated from high school in Kannus in 1968.
Mauri Pekkarinen first became interested in politics as a student at the University of Jyvaskyla in the late 1960s and early 1970s, from where he graduated with a Master's in Social Studies in 1974.
Mauri Pekkarinen had long held an interest in economics and society and began to take part in party politics at the age of 24.
In 1979 Mauri 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.
Mauri Pekkarinen 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.
In 2003, Mauri Pekkarinen was named the Minister of Trade and Industry in the Jaatteenmaki Cabinet.
Mauri Pekkarinen suggested higher food VAT to collect more taxes in January 2014.
At the 2019 European Parliament Elections Mauri Pekkarinen was voted into the European Parliament with 68,487 votes.