Anneli Jäätteenmäki, Prime Minister 2003, MEP 2004-

Anneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki (Master of Laws, born February 11, 1955 in Lapua) was the first female Prime Minister of Finland, in office April 17th, 2003, to June 18th, 2003. Alternative meaning: Prime Minister (band) A prime minister is the leading member of the cabinet of the top level government in a parliamentary system of government of a country, alternatively A prime minister is an official in a presidential system or semi-presidential system whose duty is to execute the... A Member of the European Parliament (English abbreviation MEP) is a member of the European Unions directly-elected legislative body, the European Parliament. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 11 is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Lapua (Lappo in Swedish) is a municipality of Finland. ... The Prime Minister (Finnish Pääministeri, Swedish: Statsminister) is the Head of Government in Finland. ... The Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta, Swedish: Republiken Finland) is a Nordic country in northeastern Europe, bordered by the Baltic Sea to the southwest, the Gulf of Finland to the southeast and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west. ... April 17 is the 107th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (108th in leap years). ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ...

She worked as a lawyer from 1981 until 1987, when she was elected as a member of Finnish Parliament (Eduskunta). Jäätteenmäki was Minister of Justice 1994-1995. She was the leader of the Centre Party of Finland from June 18th, 2000, to October 5th, 2003, although the first year as deputy leader during Esko Aho's sabbatical leave to lecture at Harvard University. 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Eduskunta in Finnish, or the Riksdag in Swedish, is the parliament of Finland. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Liberal parties | Finnish political parties | Nordic Agrarian parties ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... Esko Tapani Aho (born May 20, 1954) is a statesman and former Prime Minister of Finland. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ...

After 8 years in opposition she led the Centre Party of Finland to a narrow victory over the formerly largest party, the Social Democratic Party of Finland. According to the new constitution, which was in effect for the first time after this election, she was thereby given the prime opportunity to form a new Cabinet. After successful coalition negotiations with the Social Democrats and the Swedish People's Party, she came to head a Coalition Cabinet which chiefly continued on the lines of its predecessor, but introduced new measures to stimulate the economy, including tax cuts. Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Liberal parties | Finnish political parties | Nordic Agrarian parties ... The Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP) is one of the most influential political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the Coalition Party. ... Alternate meanings in cabinet (disambiguation) A Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ... The Swedish Peoples Party (Svenska folkpartiet (SFP) in Swedish or Ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (RKP) in Finnish) is a Swedish minority and mainly liberal party in Finland. ...

During her brief time in office Finland was the only country in Europe to have women as both prime minister and president, a situation underlined by the fact that half of her cabinet were women, which however was quite in accordance with Finland's reputation as a country nurturing women's political contributions. Alternative meaning: Prime Minister (band) A prime minister is the leading member of the cabinet of the top level government in a parliamentary system of government of a country, alternatively A prime minister is an official in a presidential system or semi-presidential system whose duty is to execute the... President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. ... Politics is the process and method of decision-making for groups of human beings. ...

Anneli Jäätteenmäki's short term as Prime Minister for Finland is however not the shortest in the history of Finland. Beside caretaker cabinets and temporary prime ministers appointed due to death or disease of the predecessor, Juho Heikki Vennola headed a Cabinet which only lasted for one month and a few days in February-March 1931, in connection with the Lapua Movement's vociferous anti-democratic demands for influence on the presidential election. 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Lapua Movement (Lapuan liike) was a political movement in Finland, started in 1929, initially dominated by ardent anti-Communists, emphasizing the legacy of the nationalist activism, the White Guards and the Civil War in Finland, however soon turning into more of a Fascist movement. ...

Resignation and criminal investigation

Anneli Jäätteenmäki resigned on June 18, 2003, under pressure from the accusation that she'd lied to the Parliament and the public over how she'd acquired confidential Foreign Ministry documents used by herself during the election campaign. The documents contained diplomatic information from a meeting between USA's president George W. Bush and the then prime minister Paavo Lipponen about Finland's stand in the Iraq war. Jäätteenmäki used the information to suggest that her rival, the Social Democrat leader Paavo Lipponen, had secretly offered Finnish support for the US-led coalition, a substantial breach against the official policy of neutrality in Finland's foreign politics. Jäätteenmäki broke the traditional unity and silence behind Finland's security policies. As the elections turned out to be narrow, the defeated Social Democrats found reasons to suspect her untraditional campaign being decisive for the outcome, which soured the relationship between the two major coalition partners. June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... Order: 43rd President Vice President: Dick Cheney Term of office: January 20, 2001 – present Preceded by: Bill Clinton Succeeded by: Incumbent Date of birth: July 6, 1946 Place of birth: New Haven, Connecticut First Lady: Laura Welch Bush Political party: Republican George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the... Paavo Tapio Lipponen (b. ... The neutrality and accuracy of this article are disputed. ... Finlands basic foreign policy goal, from the end of the Continuation War with the U.S.S.R. in 1944 until 1991, was to avoid great-power conflicts and to build mutual confidence with the Soviet Union. ...

After the leaked documents were published in several newspapers in March, the police launched a criminal investigation on grounds of the official secrets act. On June 11th Prime Minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki was heard as a witness by the police, which led to increasing pressure on her to come clear on her role in the leak. On the same week, the incriminating minutes of a meeting of Center Party leaders was leaked to the press, as later came clear, via the Center Party second vice-chairman Hannu Takkula. On June 16th it came to light that the presidential aide Martti Manninen, affiliated with the Center Party, had leaked the Foreign Ministry documents. On June 18th, Mrs. Jäätteenmäki gave her "full explanation" to the Parliament and apologized to the President, claiming that she had been faxed the documents without asking for them, and that she had not known of their secrecy. The Parliament was not satisfied with her account, and once Mr. Manninen on the same afternoon publicly claimed that Mrs. Jäätteenmäki had specifically and forcefully asked for the information, and that he'd be able to prove it, her coalition parties made it clear that they had no trust in her leadership. She resigned the same evening, citing the lack of political trust, and without admitting any wrongdoing. The phrase official secrets act may also be used to refer to statutes of a similar nature in other countries. ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining. ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ...

Consequently she announced on June 24th that she will resign as the leader of the Center Party. Matti Vanhanen was elected as a new party leader on October 5th and he succeeded her as Prime Minister. June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... Matti Taneli Vanhanen (born November 4, 1955, in Jyväskylä) is the current Prime Minister of Finland (as of July 2003) and chairman of the Centre Party. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). ...

The police investigation on the leak concluded on December 19, 2003 that Mrs. Jäätteenmäki should be prosecuted for aiding or abetting Mr. Manninen in revealing state secrets in contravention of the law. However, on March 19, 2004 the Helsinki District Court acquitted Mrs. Jäätteenmäki on all counts. December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ...

Current Position

Now she is a MEP for the Centre Party in the European Parliament. She received the highest number of votes with over 140 000. A Member of the European Parliament (English abbreviation MEP) is a member of the European Unions directly-elected legislative body, the European Parliament. ... Centre Party or Center Party is the designation of several parties: Centre Party - a party in Estonia Centre Party - a party in Finland Centre Party - a party in Germany Centre Party - a party in Ireland Centre Party - a party in Norway Centre Party - a party in Sweden This is a... The European Parliament is the parliamentary body of the European Union (EU), directly elected by EU citizens once every five years. ...

Paavo Tapio Lipponen (b. ... The Prime Minister (Finnish Pääministeri, Swedish: Statsminister) is the Head of Government in Finland. ... Matti Taneli Vanhanen (born November 4, 1955, in Jyväskylä) is the current Prime Minister of Finland (as of July 2003) and chairman of the Centre Party. ...

External links

• Anneli Jäättenmäki's personal website (in Finnish only) (http://www.annelijaatteenmaki.net/)