Satu Hassi
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 Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
for 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....
. She served as the Minister of Environment and Development Co-Operation in 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 between 15 April 1999 and 31 May 2002; in accordance with her party's position on the issue, she quit the cabinet in protest of the government's decision to build a fifth nuclear power plant
Nuclear power in Finland
As of 2008, Finland's nuclear power program has four nuclear reactors in two power plants. The first of these came into operation in 1977. In 2007 they provided 28.4% of Finland's electricity. They are among the world's most productive, with average capacity factors of 94% in the 1990s...
in Finland. Hassi served as the leader of her party between 1999 and 2001. She was a member of the national parliament from 1991 to 2004; she left the parliament when she was elected to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
as the sole Finnish Green representative in the 2004 election
European Parliament election, 2004
Elections to the European Parliament were held from 10 June 2004 to 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom...
.
In the European Parliament she is Vice President of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety is a committee of the European Parliament. It has 68 members and a secretariat of 10 administrators. Its chairman is...
, vice member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy is a committee of the European Parliament. Its areas of responsibility relate to industry, especially technology-intensive manufacturing, information technology, and telecommunications. It also coordinates European space policy, and as such, has ties...
and member of the Temporary Committee on Climate Change.
Hassi was previously a taistoist, a pro-Soviet member of the Communist Party
Communist Party of Finland
The Communist Party of Finland was a communist political party in Finland. The SKP was a section of Comintern and illegal in Finland until 1944.SKP did not participate in any elections with its own name. Instead, front organisations were used...
in the 1970s. She has a licentiate in technology, has worked as an engineer in a power company and taught at Tampere University of Technology. She has published three novels, a collection of poems and several essays. She has also been co-author of a series of physics books for high school students.
Hassi has recovered from breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
.