Helvi Sipilä

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Helvi Sipilä in the 1950s with the Finnish Scout Girls' Association.

Helvi Linnea Alexandra Sipilä , née Maukola (born May 5, 1915 in Helsinki , Grand Duchy of Finland , † May 15, 2009 in Helsinki, Finland ), was a Finnish diplomat , lawyer , politician and suffragette . She became the United Nations' first female Deputy Secretary-General in 1972 . At the time of their appointment, 97 percent of senior positions at the United Nations were held by men.

She has held leadership positions in the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts , the International Federation of Women Lawyers , Zonta International and the International Women's Council.

Career as a lawyer

Helvi Sipilä studied law at the University of Helsinki until 1939 . The absence of many men during World War II made it easier for her to enter a male-dominated domain. She worked for a short time as State Secretary in the Finnish Ministry of Supply. From 1943 she worked as a lawyer for women's rights in her own law firm, which she headed for 30 years. At the time, she was only the second practicing lawyer in Finland. Until 1951 she was a regular judge at the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland. In the 1950s she worked on various government commissions on issues relating to maternity protection, child protection and development aid . From 1954 to 1958 she was also President of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (German: international federation of women lawyers ).

Career at the United Nations

Helvi Sipilä represented Finland from 1960 to 1972 in various capacities at the UN, including in the Commission on the Status of Women , which she headed from 1967. Since 1966 she was a member of the Finnish delegation to the General Assembly of the United Nations .

It was in 1972 at the request of Secretary-General U Thant to Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations (German: Deputy Secretary General ). This position is the third highest within the organization after that of Secretary General and Vice Secretary General. There she headed the department of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) , which dealt with social development and humanitarian affairs, which is now the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). She organized and chaired the first UN World Conference on Women , which was held in Mexico City in 1975 . On her initiative there, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) was founded the following year . Sipilä was instrumental in ensuring that the resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations at the end of 1975 proclaimed the UN Decade for Women . She left the United Nations after her mandate ended in 1980.

Other engagement

From 1965 to 1972 she chaired the newly established Finnish Refugee Council. She also served as President of Zonta International from 1968 to 1970 . In 1970 she became Vice President of the International Women's Council .

In the 1982 presidential election , she became the first female candidate for President of Finland . She ran for the Liberal People's Party (today The Liberals ) and received 1.8 percent of the vote.

Personal

Helvi Sipilä was the only child of two farmers. She grew up in the country and went to school in Lahti . In 1939 she married Sauli Sipilä (1914-2001), who studied law with her. They had three sons and a daughter: Kari, Ikka, Jorma and Kirsti.

Awards

Helvi Sipilä received numerous awards, including twelve honorary doctorates . On May 23, 2001 she was awarded the honorary title of "Minister" (Finnish: Ministeri ) by the Finnish President . In the same year, Sipilä received the first IBA Outstanding Woman Lawyer Award from the International Bar Association , a prize for outstanding international women lawyers. The UN Commission on the Status of Women has been organizing annual seminars on her behalf since 2006 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ UN Women: Obituary Helvi Sipilä. United Nations, accessed May 16, 2009 .
  2. ↑ Helvi SIPILÄ. Retrieved December 17, 2019 (Swiss French).
  3. ↑ Anja-Riitta Ketokoski-Rexed: Helvi Sipilä | Obituary . In: The Guardian . August 3, 2009, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed December 17, 2019]).
  4. ↑ Helvi Sipilä - Munzinger biography. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Helvi Sipilä Dies | News | YLE Uutiset | yle.fi. December 29, 2011, accessed December 17, 2019 .
  6. ^ IBA - IBA Outstanding International Woman Lawyer Award. Retrieved December 17, 2019 (UK English).
  7. ↑ United Nations CSW: Concept Note - International Helvi Sipilä Seminar. United Nations CSW, accessed December 17, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Sipilä, Helvi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sipilä, Helvi Linnea Alexandra (full name); Maukola, Helvi (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish diplomat, lawyer, politician and women's rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH May 5, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Helsinki , Grand Duchy of Finland
DATE OF DEATH May 15, 2009
Place of death Helsinki, Finland