Tarja Halonen: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox President |
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| name = Tarja Kaarina Halonen |
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| image = Finland.TarjaHolonen.01.jpg |
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| order = [[President of Finland]]<!-- Please do not add his order, it is against WP:MOS, unused and clutter --> |
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| primeminister = [[Paavo Lipponen]]<br>[[Anneli Jäätteenmäki]]<br>[[Matti Vanhanen]] |
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| term_start = [[01 March]] [[2000]] |
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| predecessor = [[Martti Ahtisaari]] |
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1943|12|24|df=y}} |
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| birth_place = [[Helsinki]], [[Finland]] |
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| spouse = [[Pentti Arajärvi]] |
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| profession = [[Lawyer]] |
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| party = Independent<br>(formerly [[Social Democratic Party of Finland|SDP]]) |
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}} |
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'''Tarja Kaarina Halonen''' ([[help:IPA|pronounced]] {{Audio-IPA|Fi-Tarja_Halonen.ogg|[tɑrjɑ kɑːrinɑ hɑlonen]}}) (born [[December 24]], [[1943]], in [[Helsinki]], [[Finland]]) is the current [[President of Finland]]. She began her first six-year term of office in [[2000]] and was re-elected on [[January 29]], [[2006]]. Her current term expires in [[2012]]. She is the [[List of female heads of state|first woman]] to hold the office. |
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Halonen married her long time cohabitator, Dr. [[Pentti Arajärvi]], after she was elected President for the first term. |
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==Biography== |
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===Early life and political career=== |
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Tarja Halonen was born on [[24 December]] [[1943]] in the district of [[Kallio]], [[Helsinki]], traditionally a [[working-class]] area, the daughter of Vieno Olavi Halonen and Lyyli Elina Loimola. She obtained a [[Master of Laws]] degree from the [[University of Helsinki]] in 1968. Halonen served as the Social Affairs Secretary and General Secretary of the [[National Union of Students in Finland|National Union of Students]] (SYL) from 1969 to 1970 and, partly due to having held this position, she obtained a post as a lawyer with the [[Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions]] (SAK) from 1970 to 1974. She joined the Social Democratic Party in 1971. |
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In 1974 [[Prime Minister of Finland|Prime Minister]] [[Kalevi Sorsa]] appointed Halonen as a [[parliamentary secretary]]. She became acquainted with the world of Finnish politics and government and began her political career, going on to hold a number of public offices. From 1975 until 1996, she was a member of Helsinki City Council. Additionally, in 1979 she was elected to [[Parliament of Finland|Parliament]] as a member for the Helsinki constituency. She served as a member of Parliament until her inauguration as President in 2000. In the Parliament her first formal post was as Chairman of the Social Committee from 1984 to 1987. |
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In 1987, Halonen was appointed Minister of Social Affairs and Health in the government of Prime Minister [[Harri Holkeri]], a position she held until 1990. In addition to this, she served as Minister of [[Nordic Countries|Nordic]] Cooperation from 1989 until 1991, the same year in which she was also appointed chairman of the International Solidarity Foundation, a post she relinquished in 2000. From 1990 to 1991 she served as Minister of Justice, and from 1995 until her election as President she served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the government of her Social Democratic colleague [[Paavo Lipponen]]. |
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===The path to presidency=== |
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Halonen announced in 1999 that she wished to stand as a candidate for President in the 2000 Presidential election. In the 1994 election, for the first time, another woman, [[Elisabeth Rehn]], had come very close to victory, inspiring Halonen and her supporters. After Halonen's announcement, the Social Democratic party made a decision to hold a preliminary election to decide its candidate. In these elections Halonen ran against [[Pertti Paasio]], a member of the European Parliament and former party chairman, and [[Jacob Söderman]], the EU Ombudsman. The incumbent, [[Martti Ahtisaari]], refused to run in party preliminaries and thus announced that he would not run for a second term. |
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While Halonen started from fourth place in the polls, in the presidential election she got the most votes, 40.0% of popular votes. The nearest opponent, the former [[Prime Minister of Finland|Prime Minister]] [[Esko Aho]] of the [[Centre Party (Finland)|Centre Party]], got 34.4%. Since neither of the two candidates got over 50% of votes, a second round was held as required by Finnish Law. In the second round, Ms. Halonen narrowly defeated her opponent with 51.6% against 48.4% thus becoming Finland's first [[List of women heads of state|female President]]. Her first term began on [[March 1]], [[2000]]. In 2006 she was re-elected for another term as President. |
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===Presidency=== |
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{|align=right |
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|[[Image:Coat of Arms of Tarja Halonen.png|thumb|210px|Arms of Tarja Kaarina Halonen surrounded by the collar of the Swedish [[Order of the Seraphim]] ]] |
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|} |
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After her narrow election victory in the first election, Halonen's approval ratings rose and reached a peak of 88% in December 2003. In a survey made in [[February 12]], [[2006]] her approval rate was at 74%. She is widely regarded as an easily approachable and down-to-earth person. Halonen has often been compared to "[[Moomin]]mamma", a mother-figure from the comic strips and books created by [[Tove Jansson]]. Many people appreciate that she has made a career from modest circumstances due to her own competence, which has great value for [[meritocracy]]-minded Finns. Halonen was nominated as one of the top ten members of the "[[Suuret Suomalaiset]]" (greatest Finns) TV special in 2004, the only living person to be included. |
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[[Image:Halonen Tarja.JPG|thumb|210px|Tarja Halonen with her husband [[Pentti Arajärvi]] in the [[Parliament of Finland]] on [[May 23]] [[2007]].]] |
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Her lifestyle has caused some consternation, but her independent attitude has also brought her admiration. In the 1960s, she quit the [[Church of Finland|Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland]], to which the majority of Finns belong, to protest against its policy of taxing church members, and its stance against female priests. Today, the church accepts women as priests, and Halonen has stated that she has no personal reason not to return to the church but refrains from doing so in order not to give a signal that might be misinterpreted.<ref>[http://www.presidentti.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=46823 Interview of Halonen in ''Kotimaa'' 12-2-2005.] On the official webpage of the president. Retrieved 10-10-2007. {{fi}}</ref> In 1990's, Halonen acted as the chairman of ''Suomen setlementtiliitto'', a Christian social work organization.<ref>[http://www.palkkatyolainen.fi/pt2000/p000404-h3.html Tarja Halosen setlementtiliike. Palkkatyöläinen 3/2000.] Retrieved 10-10-2007. {{fi}}</ref> |
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Other criticisms of Halonen have included her participation in the May 2005 [[Victory Day]] celebration in Moscow, and her opposition to the use of landmines in Finnish military doctrine. It has also been claimed that she has nominated some female candidates over their more qualified male colleagues for high positions, in particular the current President of the [[Supreme Court of Finland]], [[Pauliine Koskelo]]. |
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===Presidential election 2006=== |
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{{main|Finnish presidential election, 2006}} |
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On [[May 20]], [[2005]], Tarja Halonen held a press conference in [[Mäntyniemi]] where she announced her willingness to run for a second term. Officially, this was the desired answer for the SDP delegation that had visited her two days earlier. In addition to her own party's support, the leader of the [[Left Alliance (Finland)|Left Alliance]], [[Suvi-Anne Siimes]], gave her support for Halonen's future campaign. |
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Also giving his tongue-in-cheek support was the American talk show host [[Conan O'Brien]]. After discovering that he was very popular in Finland, he attributed it to the fact that he looks like Tarja Halonen. When he found out that she was up for re-election, he wanted her to win because "I like looking like the president of a country, even if it is a woman". He went as far as producing mock campaign ads, and attack ads against her opponents. |
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On [[November 19]], the SDP's party council meeting was held; praised as "the president of the whole nation", she was unanimously chosen as the presidential candidate. Shortly thereafter, the party council of the Left Alliance gave the party's official support to Halonen. |
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Halonen's support for the second term was strong. She received 46% of the first round vote in the election. [[Sauli Niinistö]] (of the [[Kokoomus|''National Coalition Party'']]) was second with 24%. They faced each other in a runoff on [[January 29]] [[2006]], where Halonen was re-elected with 51.8% of the vote against Mr. Niinistö's 48.2%. The re-election was a close call. She led in the advance voting, but as more debates were shown in the media, she eventually received fewer votes on the actual voting day than Mr. Niinistö did. |
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==Family and interests== |
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President Halonen's interests include art history, the theatre and swimming. She also enjoys drawing and painting, and she has two cats named Miska and Rontti. She speaks [[Finnish language|Finnish]], [[Swedish language|Swedish]], [[English language|English]], [[German language|German]], [[French language|French]], [[Afrikaans]], and [[Estonian language|Estonian]]. |
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On [[August 26]], [[2000]], President Halonen married her longtime partner, Dr [[Pentti Arajärvi]], in a civil ceremony at her official residence, [[Mäntyniemi]], after a relationship of more than fifteen years. Halonen's adult daughter Anna, and Arajärvi's adult son, Esko, acted as witnesses. Both children were from previous relationships. While in [[Finland]] her relationship was not an issue, the marriage clarified the position of Dr. Arajärvi abroad. |
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[[Anna Halonen]] is the daughter of President Halonen and her former partner, [[Kari Pekkonen]]. She has completed a degree in international relations at the [[University of Kent]] and currently works as a coordinator at [[University of Helsinki]]'s [[Aleksanteri Institute]]. |
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==Political views== |
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Early in her political career Tarja Halonen represented the radical left wing of her former party (Social Democrat). She publicly opposed the proposed free trade agreement of the European Economic Community (EEC, later European Union) in 1973, by signing a petition along with 500 other more-or-less prominent social democrats and socialists. As an employee of the [[Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions]], Halonen advocated diplomatic recognition of [[German Democratic Republic|East Germany]]. Otherwise she was loyal to President [[Urho Kekkonen|Kekkonen]]'s foreign policy, which was founded on Finnish neutrality and good relations with the [[Soviet Union]]. |
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Throughout her political career, Halonen has been a strong supporter of [[human rights]] and international solidarity. She describes herself as a "relative [[pacifism|pacifist]]", meaning that she doesn't support unilateral disarmament. She has strongly defended the President's role as the commander in chief of the military.<ref>Anna Perho (2005): [http://www.city.fi/artikkeli/Tarja+Halonen/1758/ ''Tarja Halonen - ensimmäinen nainen''] City-lehti 24/2005</ref> She opposes [[NATO]] membership. Her strong stands on these issues have characterised her presidential term and shaped Finnish foreign policy, in part in cooperation with the like-minded former Minister for Foreign Affairs, [[Erkki Tuomioja]]. |
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==Gay and lesbian issues== |
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In 1980–1981 Tarja Halonen served as the [[chairman]] of [[SETA]] (Seksuaalinen Tasavertaisuus RY, ''Sexual Equality''), the main [[LGBT]] rights organization in Finland. When she became Minister for Justice in 1990, there were high hopes among [[SETA]] members that she would stand up for gay rights.<ref>[http://www.helsinki.fi/~eisaksso/tarja.html Tarja Halonen & SETA<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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In 2003, a widely publicised incident occurred when member of parliament [[Tony Halme]] mistakenly referred to Tarja Halonen as a lesbian. In a radio interview, Halme referred to his background of growing up "in the streets", and said: "We have a lesbian as president and me as parliamentarian. Everything seems possible."<ref>[http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=3417 Windy City Times - European Recognition, Diana Tapes Shock, Finnish Pres called Lesbian<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Although Halme intended to refer to social mobility with his comment, it was interpreted as an insult by much of the media. Halonen herself made no comment. Halme later apologized saying he had been misunderstood.<ref>[http://ranneliike.net/artikkelit.php?alue=tapaushalme&juttu=erikoiset ranneliike.net:<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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According to her authorized [[biography]] published in 2005, Halonen is critical of some unnamed members of the Finnish [[civil service]] for being gay or lesbian and not [[coming out]] and campaigning for sexual equality. She accused these [[The closet|closeted]] homosexuals of reaping the benefits of other people's work for sexual equality without contributing themselves. |
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==Resemblance to Conan O'Brien== |
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{|align=right |
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|<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Conan tarja.jpg|thumb|210px|O'Brien meets Halonen.]] --> |
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|} |
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<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Conan O'Brien does American Gothic.jpg|225px|thumb|Popular talk show host [[Conan O'Brien]] using his likeness to support Halonen in a parody of [[American Gothic]].|{{deletable image-caption|1=Thursday, 25 October 2007}}]] --> |
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On the [[October 11]], [[2005]] episode of ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]'', host [[Conan O'Brien|O'Brien]] mentioned that a Finnish man in the audience had observed that O'Brien resembled the President of Finland. During that time, O'Brien performed many comedy bits about his resemblance to Halonen, including some that promoted Halonen for a second term. Halonen's appearance in American popular culture received some publicity in Finland. About a week and a half after the initial show, Conan showed actual Finnish newspaper articles which commented on the resemblance, one calling them "like two peas in a pod". |
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After the initial publicity received by O'Brien's sketch, Halonen's re-election campaign started advertising on the Finnish broadcast of ''Late Night''. The link with O'Brien sparked some debate over his effect on the election. On [[January 28]], [[2006]], O'Brien announced that ''Late Night'' would visit Finland in February 2006, which he did. He met with Tarja Halonen on February 14, and Conan presented her with a heart-shaped box of chocolates. They then sat down and during the relaxed discussion, Halonen asked Conan if she looks more like his mother or his father, and joked "You have also made a great favor for us, because I think that at least now quite many more Americans know where Finland is." |
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==Chronology of her political career== |
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*Member of the [[Social Democratic Party of Finland|Social Democratic Party]] 1971–2000 |
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*Prime Minister's Parliamentary Secretary 1974–1975 |
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*Member of Helsinki City Council 1977–1996 |
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*Member of [[Parliament of Finland|Parliament]] (Helsinki constituency) 1979–2000 |
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*Chair of the Parliamentary Social Affairs Committee 1984–1986 |
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*Minister of Social Affairs and Health 1987–1990 |
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*Minister of Nordic Cooperation 1989–1991 |
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*[[Minister of Justice (Finland)|Minister of Justice]] 1990–1991 |
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*Chair of the Parliamentary Law Committee 1991-1994 |
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*Chair of the Parliamentary Grand Committee 1995 |
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*[[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Finland)| |
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Minister of Foreign Affairs]] 1995–2000 |
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*[[President of Finland]] 2000–present |
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== References == |
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{{reflist}} |
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{{start box}} |
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{{s-off}} |
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{{Incumbent succession box |
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| title = [[President of Finland]] |
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| before = [[Martti Ahtisaari]] |
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| start = [[2000]] |
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}} |
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{{Succession box |
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| before = [[Paavo Rantanen]] |
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| title = [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Finland)|Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland]] |
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| years = [[1995]] – [[2000]] |
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| after = [[Erkki Tuomioja]] |
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}} |
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{{Succession box |
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| before = [[Matti Louekoski]] |
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| title = [[Minister of Justice (Finland)|Minister of Justice of Finland]] |
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| years = [[1990]] – [[1991]] |
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| after = [[Hannele Pokka]] |
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}} |
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{{end box}} |
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{{FinnishPresidents}} |
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{{Heads of state of the European Union Member states}} |
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==See also== |
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*[[Tarja Halonen's first inauguration speech, 2000]] |
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*[[Tarja Halonen's second inauguration speech, 2006]] |
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*[[List of national leaders]] |
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==External links== |
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{{Commonscat}} |
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* [http://www.presidentti.fi/eng/persons/thcv.html Halonen, Tarja Kaarina] |
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* [http://www.helsinki.fi/~eisaksso/tarja.html Tarja Halonen & SETA] |
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* [http://www.tarjahalonen.info/eng/index.html Tarja Halonen's 2006 Presidential Campaign Site] |
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*[http://sdp.fi/index.php?cid=sdp&mid=863 Social-democratic party of Finland] |
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{{Persondata |
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|NAME=Halonen, Tarja |
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|ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |
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|SHORT DESCRIPTION=[[President of Finland]] |
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|DATE OF BIRTH=[[December 24]], [[1943]] |
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|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Kallio]], [[Helsinki]] |
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|DATE OF DEATH= |
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|PLACE OF DEATH= |
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}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Halonen, Tarja}} |
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[[Category:Presidents of Finland]] |
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[[Category:Current national leaders]] |
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[[Category:Finnish politicians]] |
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[[Category:Finnish lawyers]] |
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[[Category:Government ministers of Finland]] |
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[[Category:People from Helsinki]] |
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[[Category:Recipients of the Star of Romania Order]] |
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[[Category:Social democrats]] |
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[[Category:Knights of the Elephant]] |
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[[Category:Current female heads of state]] |
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[[Category:Female heads of state]] |
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[[Category:1943 births]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:LGBT rights activists]] |
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[[ang:Tarja Halonen]] |
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[[bg:Таря Халонен]] |
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[[ca:Tarja Halonen]] |
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[[cs:Tarja Halonenová]] |
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[[da:Tarja Halonen]] |
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[[el:Τάρια Χαλόνεν]] |
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[[fa:تاریا هالونن]] |
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[[ko:타르야 할로넨]] |
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[[lv:Tarja Halonena]] |
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[[ru:Халонен, Тарья]] |
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[[sk:Tarja Halonenová]] |
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[[sr:Тарја Халонен]] |
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[[th:ตาเรีย ฮาโลเนน]] |
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[[zh:塔里娅·哈洛宁]] |
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Revision as of 10:17, 1 June 2008
kakka