Jari Vilén
Encyclopedia
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
politician and a diplomat. Mr. Vilén served in the Finnish Parliament
Parliament of Finland
The Eduskunta , is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and meets in the Parliament House in Helsinki. The latest election to the parliament took place on April 17, 2011.- Constitution :...
, representing the National Coalition Party
National Coalition Party (Finland)
The National Coalition Party is a liberal conservative political party in Finland founded in 1918.The National Coalition Party is one of the four largest parties in Finland, along with the Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party and the True Finns...
and the district of Lapland from 1999–2007.
Political life
Mr. Vilén served as the Minister of Foreign Trade and European Affairs in Prime MinisterPrime Minister of Finland
The Prime Minister is the Head of Government of Finland. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, who is the Head of State. The current Prime Minister is Jyrki Katainen of the National Coalition Party.-Overview:...
Paavo Lipponen
Paavo Lipponen
Paavo Tapio Lipponen is a Finnish politician and former reporter. He was Prime Minister of Finland from 1995 to 2003, and Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland from 1993 to 2005...
's second cabinet in 2002–2003. As Minister for Foreign Trade he was responsible for OECD cooperation, competition and trade policy, consumer affairs and tourism. As Minister for European Affairs he was responsible of the enlargement negotiations of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
Mr. Vilén was a member of European Convention
European Convention
The Convention on the Future of Europe , was a body established by the European Council in December 2001 as a result of the Laeken Declaration...
from 9 May–10 July 2003. Mr Vilén was chosen as Member of the European Union Convention on Future to be the successor for Mr. Matti Vanhanen
Matti Vanhanen
Matti Taneli Vanhanen is a Finnish politician. He is a former Prime Minister of Finland and a former Chairman of the Centre Party. In the second half of 2006 he was President of the European Council. In his earlier career he was a journalist...
, sitting Finnish Prime Minister Its purpose was to produce a draft constitution for the European Union.
Mr. Vilén served as a chairman of the Grand Committee of the Parliament of Finland since 18 June 2004 until 21 March 2007. Mr Vilén has become a prominent figure regarding European and international politics in Finland. He writes frequently about wide variety of issues concerning European Union, international, financial and economic policy, education, regional policy as well as defence policy. He has also published and edited writings on the future of European Union.
Mr Vilén has also held numerous confidential posts during his career. Among others he has served as Chairman for the European Movement in Finland (2003-2007), Chairman for the administrative council of the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd (FINNFUND) (2000-2001, 2003-2007), Chairman for the National Educational Association 2004-, Vice-Chairman for the National Coalition Party Council 1995–2000, Chairman for the Finnish Teacher Student Association 1988–1989, and Chairman for the Conservative Group at the Nordic Council
Nordic Council
The Nordic Council is a geo-political, inter-parliamentary forum for co-operation between the Nordic countries. It was established following World War II and its first concrete result was the introduction in 1952 of a common labour market and free movement across borders without passports for the...
2001.
During the Mohammed cartoon wars
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
, mr Vilén was the first Finnish politician to condemn the publication of the cartoons in Finland and therefore influencing the Minister of Interiors' decision to initiate the criminal investigations against the organization Suomen Sisu
Suomen Sisu
Suomen Sisu is a Finnish association that defines itself as nationalist and patriotic, criticizing unlimited immigration and multiculturalism. Suomen Sisu proclaims to support the idea of independent national states, that govern themselves sovereignly, and opposes supranational co-operation,...
, which published the cartoons on their website.
Foreign Service
Mr. Vilén announced on 9 December 2006 that he will not run again in elections because there is a chance that he might be moving to international duties after elections.The President of Republic Mrs. Tarja Halonen
Tarja Halonen
Tarja Kaarina Halonen is the incumbent President of Finland. The first female to hold the office, Halonen had previously been a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 when she resigned after her election to the presidency...
appointed Mr. Vilén to Finland's ambassador in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
from 1 August 2007. Mr. Vilén has served as civil servant at Ministry for Foreign Affairs since 1 April 2007.
Education
After finishing his studies and getting the degree of Master of Education from the University of Oulu 1990 Mr. Vilén continued his academic career as researcher in Trinity College and as teacher in St Andrews College, Dublin, Ireland 1990 – 1991, as assistant in the University of Oulu 1991 – 1992, and as researcher on a grant from the Academy of Finland in Vrije Universiteit, Brussels, Belgium 1992 - 1994.During 2001-2002 After Mr. Vilén's election as a minister University of Oulu reinvestigated after a tip Mr. Vilén's master thesis from 1989 and concluded that part of the thesis were copied from another source without proper notation. Mr. Vilén, his thesis supervisor and Faculty board were all reprimanded. University also stated that there were no legal basis to dissolve the acceptance of the thesis.
Family
Jari Vilén married 2005 Ms. Janina Vilén (née Koski) who at the time of the marriage worked as a parliamentary assistant to Mrs Janina AnderssonJanina Andersson
Janina Maria Andersson is a Finnish politician and member of Finnish Parliament, representing the Green League. She has also held positions in various other organisations. She was first elected to the parliament in 1995....
, A member of Finnish Parliament representing the Green League
Green League
The Green League is a centrist green liberal political party in Finland. It has ten seats in the Finnish Parliament and two in the European Parliament. The current chairperson is Ville Niinistö....
. Their divorce was announced in 2009. Vilén remarried 06.11.2011 in Budapest with Ms. Eva Söregin who is the head of cabinet of the former President of the Hungarian Parliament doctor Katalin Szili
Katalin Szili
Katalin Szili was the Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, a post to which she was elected on May 15, 2002. After obtaining a degree in law at Janus Pannonius University, she completed majors in human ecology and political science. She has been a legislator since 1994...
.