Eero Heinäluoma

Eero Olavi Heinäluoma (born 4 July 1955) is a Finnish politician who has been serving as Member of the European Parliament since 2019. A former chairman of the Finnish Social Democratic Party, he was replaced in the party's leadership by Jutta Urpilainen in June 2008. He was Speaker of the Parliament of Finland 2011–2015.

Eero Heinäluoma
Member of the European Parliament
Assumed office
2 July 2019
Preceded byEighth European Parliament
ConstituencyFinland
Speaker of the Parliament of Finland
In office
23 June 2011 – 21 April 2015
Preceded byBen Zyskowicz
Succeeded byJuha Sipilä
Deputy Prime Minister of Finland
In office
23 September 2005 – 19 April 2007
Prime MinisterMatti Vanhanen
Preceded byAntti Kalliomäki
Succeeded byJyrki Katainen
Leader of the Social Democratic Party
In office
10 June 2005 – 6 June 2008
Preceded byPaavo Lipponen
Succeeded byJutta Urpilainen
Personal details
Born (1955-07-04) 4 July 1955
Kokkola, Finland
Political partySocial Democratic Party
SpouseSatu Siitonen-Heinäluoma
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life and education

Heinäluoma has studied political sciences, but has not finished his degree.[1]

Political career

Career in national politics

Heinäluoma was elected chairman in June 2005, succeeding former Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen. He was the Minister of Finance of Finland from 2005 to 2007.[2]

Heinäluoma held various posts in the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) from 1983 to 2003. He was a director in SAK from 2000 to 2003. Heinäluoma was appointed as party secretary in 2002 and in the 2003 elections, he was elected as a Member of Parliament from the Electoral District of Uusimaa. Ever since he took up the post of Party secretary he had, according to many, been groomed as Lipponen's heir.

He won on the first ballot, getting 201 of 350 votes. His rivals were Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, with 138 votes, and Minister of Education Tuula Haatainen, with 11 votes.

As party chairman, Heinäluoma ordered a reshuffle of SDP cabinet ministers and assumed the position of Minister of Finance on 23 September 2005. In 2007 elections, the party led by Heinäluoma suffered a significant loss, losing 15% of their seats in the parliament, and having the worst result since 1962. The loss led to the resignation of Heinäluoma as the party chairman.

Heinäluoma was elected as the chairman of the Social Democratic parliamentary group in February 2010 and served in that position until becoming Speaker in June 2011.[3]

In June 2016, Heinäluoma announced that he would not become his party's candidate for the 2018 presidential election due to his wife's recent death.[4]

Member of the European Parliament, 2019–present

Heinäluoma became a Member of the European Parliament in the 2019 elections. He has since been serving as treasurer of the S&D Group, making him part of the leadership team around the group's chairwoman Iratxe García.[5]

Heinäluoma joined the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Parliament's delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. He is also a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development,[6] the European Parliament Intergroup on Trade Unions[7] and the URBAN Intergroup.[8]

Other activities
  • National Audit Office of Finland (NAOF), Member of the advisory board (2017-2019)[9]

Honours

Finnish

Foreign

In 2022 Heinäluoma stated that he had renounced his Russia order of Friendship by throwing it into a trash bin and said that the order had become a ‘travesty of its own name’.[14]

References
  1. "Henkilötiedot" (in Finnish). Eero Heinäluoma. Archived from the original on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
  2. "Council of State - Ministers of Finance". Valtioneuvosto.fi. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  3. "Edustajamatrikkeli". Eduskunta. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. (in Finnish)
  4. "SDP:n Eero Heinäluoma ei pyri presidentiksi – ehdottaa Urpilaista" (in Finnish). Yle. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  5. The S&D Group elects its new Bureau S&D Group, press release of 19 June 2019.
  6. Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development European Parliament.
  7. Intergroup on Trade Unions European Parliament.
  8. Members URBAN Intergroup.
  9. Advisory Board 2017-2019 National Audit Office of Finland (NAOF).
  10. "Kunniamerkki yli 4 200 suomalaiselle". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 30 November 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  11. "5 500 sai kunniamerkin". Etelä-Suomen Sanomat (in Finnish). 30 November 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  12. "Bearers of Decorations". Office of the President of the Republic. 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  13. Paananen, Arja (17 October 2017). "Lehtomäki ja Heinäluoma saavat Putinilta Ystävyyden kunniamerkin". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  14. ""Siitä oli tullut nimensä irvikuva" – Heinäluoma kertoo HS:ssa, mitä teki Putinin myöntämälle Ystävyyden kunniamerkille". Demokraatti (in Finnish). 20 March 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
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