Elina Valtonen
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|
Elina Valtonen | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Valtonen in 2024 | |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| Assumed office 20 June 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Petteri Orpo |
| Preceded by | Pekka Haavisto |
| Member of the Finnish Parliament for Helsinki | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2014 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Elina Maria Valtonen 23 October 1981 Helsinki, Finland |
| Political party | National Coalition Party |
| Residence | Espoo |
| Alma mater | |
| Website | elinavaltonen |
Elina Maria Valtonen (formerly Lepomäki; born 23 October 1981)[1] is a Finnish politician who has served as Minister for Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Petteri Orpo since 2023. A member of the National Coalition Party (NCP), she has represented the constituency of Uusimaa in the Parliament of Finland since 2014.[2] In the 2021 municipal election she collected the second-highest number of votes in Helsinki and was elected a member of its city council.[3]
Early life[edit]
As a child, Valtonen lived with her family in Bonn, West Germany; she completed A-levels (Reifeprüfung diploma) at the German School in Helsinki.
Education[edit]
Valtonen holds a master's degree in both technology and financial economics from Helsinki University of Technology and Helsinki School of Economics.[2] She is an owner in several technology start-ups;[4] she chaired the board of the free-market think tank Libera from 2015 to 2021.[5]
Career[edit]
Prior to entering politics in 2014, Valtonen spent 10 years in investment banking, as a director at Royal Bank of Scotland and as a senior analyst at Nordea.[6] She has developed a model for transforming the welfare state into a digital sharing economy, called the Life Account.[7] In 2018, she participated in a Bilderberg Conference in Turin.
In April 2016, Valtonen announced her candidacy for the leadership of the National Coalition Party. In the first round of the leadership election on 11 June 2016 she received 15% of the vote and thus failed to be elected.[8] In September 2020, Valtonen was elected as a new vice chair of the Coalition Party.[9]
In the parliamentary elections of 2023, Valtonen raised the largest election campaign budget, 179,000 euros.[10] Her biggest funders were Chaim Poju Zabludowicz and Björn Wahlroos.[11][12] In June 2023, she was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Orpo Cabinet.[13]
Writing[edit]
Valtonen has co-authored several reports on economics and the society such as "The Future of the Euro – The alternatives for Finland" (2014) and "The Life Account – A Social Security Reform" (2013).[7] In 2018, she published her book Vapauden voitto (Victory of Freedom, Otava), on how to reform the Nordic welfare model and the European Union.
Other activities[edit]
- European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Member of the Council (since 2023)[14]
Personal life[edit]
In September 2020, Valtonen filed for divorce from Jukka Lepomäki; in April 2021 she announced that she changed her surname back to her maiden name.[15] Valtonen and Lepomäki have two children together.
Honours[edit]
Sweden: Royal Order of the Polar Star, Commander Grand Cross (23 April 2024)[16]
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References[edit]
- ^ Minister for Foreign Affairs, valtioneuvosto.fi.
- ^ a b "Elina Lepomäki". Parliament of Finland.
- ^ "Municipal election 2021 Result service". Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- ^ Elina Valtonen, www.nordicbankingforum.com.
- ^ "Mikä Libera?". Libera.
- ^ "NCP MP had €100k offshore in 2014, denies wrongdoing", Yle. 5 October 2021.
- ^ a b "The Finnish model of welfare for the digital age". Financial Times. 17 March 2016.
- ^ "Stubb and Orpo fight in the second round - Orpo only needs 11 votes to win". Yle News. 11 June 2016.
- ^ "Häkkänen, Lepomäki and Ikonen become vice-chairs of the Coalition Party". Yle. 6 September 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- ^ "Ulkoministeri Elina Valtosen vaalirahoitus ilmoitettu yli 40 000 euroa liian pieneksi, HS kertoo – onkin eduskuntavaalien suurin". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 20 August 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "Miljonäärit tukivat ehdokkaita avokätisesti kevään vaaleissa – Nämä kansanedustajat saivat "Nallelta" täydet 6 000 euroa". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ Waris, Olli (6 June 2023). "Kokoomuksen Valtosella yli 136 000 euron kampanja – sai Wahlroosilta ja Zabludowiczilta 6 000 euroa". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "Prime Minister Orpo's Government appointed". Valtioneuvosto. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ Members European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
- ^ "Elina Lepomäki vaihtoi sukunimeään". Ilta-Sanomat. 25 April 2021.
- ^ "Ruotsalainen tyyliasiantuntija HS:lle: "Suzanne Innes-Stubbin puku korkeaa Hollywood-tasoa"". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 23 April 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
External links[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1981 births
- Living people
- Politicians from Helsinki
- National Coalition Party politicians
- Members of the Parliament of Finland (2011–2015)
- Members of the Parliament of Finland (2015–2019)
- Members of the Parliament of Finland (2019–2023)
- 21st-century Finnish women politicians
- Members of the Parliament of Finland (2023–2027)
- Women government ministers of Finland
- Women members of the Parliament of Finland
- Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Finland
- Female foreign ministers