Profile
Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja
Erkki Tuomioja was born on 1 July 1946 in Helsinki. His father, Sakari Tuomioja, was an ambassador, while his mother's maiden name was Vappu Wuolijoki. Erkki Tuomioja has been married to Marja-Helena Rajala since 1978.
After attending school in Helsinki, London and Geneva, Tuomioja passed his matriculation examination in Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu upper secondary school in 1965. He graduated as a Master of Social Sciences in 1971 from the University of Helsinki, and received the degree of Licentiate of Social Sciences in 1980. In 1996, he wrote his doctoral dissertation on the social policy views of Pekka Kuusi. He also obtained a Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration) degree in 1973, from Helsinki School of Economics.
Active participation in politics, study of history, reading and running have always played a key role in Erkki Tuomioja's life. In his view, the promotion of peace and equality should lie at the heart of politics.
As a student, Tuomioja was active in Suomen Teiniliitto, an organisation of upper secondary students, and in university student unions. He has held a high number of positions of trust, including on the boards of the Finnish UN Association and the Committee of 100 in Finland. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1970. From 1979 to 1991 he was the Deputy Mayor of the City of Helsinki, after which he returned to Parliament. International issues have captivated Tuomioja's interest, including while serving in Parliament. He has been the Chair of the Grand Committee, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Chair and a member of the Finnish Delegation to the Nordic Council. He has also sat on the Legal Affairs Committee, the Education and Culture Committee and the Commerce Committee in Parliament. He was the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2000 to 2007 and again as of 2011. In addition, he held a ministerial portfolio as Minister of Trade and Industry from 1999 to 2000. Tuomioja has also devoted his attention to local government in his positions on the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (YTV), the Regional Planning Association of Helsinki and the Helsinki City Council.
Tuomioja joined the Finnish Social Democratic Party in 1967. As a party member, Tuomioja has served as Chair of the Social Democratic Party parliamentary group, a member of the Party Council and Vice Chair of a District Board.
Tuomioja has also been a journalist. He started out as a freelance television journalist for school TV programmes, TV news and the Vedenjakalla programme between 1965 and 1969. In addition, he has been editor-in-chief of Ydin magazine and a columnist for several other magazines. Throughout his life, he has shown a keen interest in language learning, especially in learning through reading. In addition to the two national languages, Finnish and Swedish, Tuomioja understands English, French, German and Estonian.
Owing to his interest in political history, Tuomioja continues to be an adjunct professor (docent) in Political History at the University of Helsinki. His writings also deal with the study of history. Tuomioja has written some 20 books ranging from history and politics to topical issues. In 2006, he was awarded the Tieto Finlandia award for his biography of Hella Wuolijoki and Salme Pekkala, entitled Häivähdys punaista (A Delicate Shade of Pink). Tuomioja shares his views on many of the books he reads on the book review pages of his own website.
Tuomioja is an eager jogger; earlier in his life he also ran the 3,000 m steeplechase. His personal record as a marathon runner is 2:59:27, which he achieved in 1983. He continues to run almost daily – on a treadmill if the location or weather does not permit outdoor running. Tuomioja also used to be active on the Finnish Workers' Sports Federation and held a seat on the board of the Finnish Olympic Committee for 12 years.