Timo Soini
Encyclopedia
Timo Juhani Soini is a Finnish politician, and co-founder and current leader of the True Finns
party. He was a member of the European Parliament
from 2009 until 2011, when he returned to the Parliament of Finland
. Well-known as an EU-sceptic populist, he was elected a member of the Espoo
city council in 2000 and the Parliament of Finland
in 2003. In the 2009 European Parliament election
he won a seat in the European Parliament with Finland's highest personal vote share (nearly 10% of all votes), becoming the first True Finn in the European Parliament.
In the 2011 parliamentary election
, his party won 19.1% of the votes, which was described as "shocking" and "exceptional" by the Finnish media. Soini himself won the most votes of all candidates, leaving behind the Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb
and the Minister of Finance Jyrki Katainen
in their capital
electoral district. Helsingin Sanomat
concluded that "Timo Soini rewrote the electoral history books".
Soini has become one of the internationally best-known critics of European Union
bailouts and safety mechanisms. Soini's column "Why I Don't Support Europe's Bailouts" at the Wall Street Journal was the most read and emailed article of the magazine's daily European
edition.
in 1988, majoring in political theory. His military rank is Corporal
. He is a devout Roman Catholic, which he became as a result of his experiences on his many trips to Ireland
. Soini has also publicly announced that he is a cordial friend of the state of Israel
. According to the BBC
, Soini is "a die-hard supporter" of English football club Millwall FC. Soini currently lives in the Kaitaa
district of Espoo
, in the Greater Helsinki area. He is married and has two children.
, and was its Secretary General from 1992. After the Rural Party dissolved following the March 1995 elections, Soini and two others filed paperwork, in mid-May 1995, to create a new political party, initially to be called the Pure Finnish Association. It was, instead, founded as the True Finns Party and two years later Soini succeeded Raimo Vistbacka
as Chairman, a position he has held ever since. He ran for a seat in parliament in the spring 1999 elections
, but lost. He was first elected to the parliament in 2003
. Soini was his party's candidate in the 2006 Presidential election
, finishing fifth out of the eight candidates in the first round, with a vote share of 3.4%. In March 2008, Soini wrote an autobiographical book called Maisterisjätkä, published by Tammi
.
In 2011 he visited the party conference of UKIP, the British political party with which he has had a long friendship. He was also invited to speak at the UK Conservative Party Conference in 2011.
, making them the third largest party. Soini received 43 437 personal votes, the highest amount of all of the candidates. Soini managed to raise the popularity of the party from 4.1% to 19.0% in four years. Helsingin Sanomat
opined in an editorial that Soini "rewrote the electoral history books". According to the BBC
, behind Soini's success was "brain, wit and charisma". A political analyst and university
professor
pointed to Soini's oratorical
skills and ability to appeal to common people and make complicated things look easy. The election result was also referred to as "shocking" and "exceptional".
agreements. According to him, emission trading is a major financial crime in Europe. The European Union Emission Trading Scheme
was introduced in 2005. Soini wanted to cancel all recent additions to the energy and environmental taxes. He used a violent expression: "Green taxes are like shooting yourself in the foot". Soini was criticised for acting as a brake on climate change solutions by MP Oras Tynkkynen, a Green
focusing on climate policy, and for calling Finland the North Korea of climate policy by MP Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, a Social Democrat
.
True Finns
True Finns or The Finns is a populist and nationalist political party in Finland, founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The head of the movement is Timo Soini. In the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election, The party won 19.1% of votes, becoming the third largest party...
party. He was a member of 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...
from 2009 until 2011, when he returned to the Parliament of Finland
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 :...
. Well-known as an EU-sceptic populist, he was elected a member of the Espoo
Espoo
Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
city council in 2000 and the Parliament of Finland
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 :...
in 2003. In the 2009 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...
he won a seat in the European Parliament with Finland's highest personal vote share (nearly 10% of all votes), becoming the first True Finn in the European Parliament.
In the 2011 parliamentary election
Finnish parliamentary election, 2011
An election to the Eduskunta was held on 17 April 2011 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Advance voting, which included voting by Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31.2%....
, his party won 19.1% of the votes, which was described as "shocking" and "exceptional" by the Finnish media. Soini himself won the most votes of all candidates, leaving behind the Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb
Alexander Stubb
Cai-Göran Alexander Stubb is a Finnish politician and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 4 April 2008 to 22 June 2011...
and the Minister of Finance Jyrki Katainen
Jyrki Katainen
Jyrki Tapani Katainen is the Prime Minister of Finland and chairman of the country's largest party, the National Coalition Party.-Career:...
in their capital
Uusimaa
Uusimaa, or Nyland in Swedish, is a region in Finland. It borders the regions Finland Proper, Tavastia Proper, Päijänne Tavastia and Kymenlaakso...
electoral district. Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2008, its daily circulation was 412,421 on weekdays and 468,505 on Sundays...
concluded that "Timo Soini rewrote the electoral history books".
Soini has become one of the internationally best-known critics of 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...
bailouts and safety mechanisms. Soini's column "Why I Don't Support Europe's Bailouts" at the Wall Street Journal was the most read and emailed article of the magazine's daily European
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
edition.
Personal background
Timo Soini worked for the food company Linkosuo Oy for two summers in 1981 and 1982 and was Secretary General and Chairman of the Kehittyvän Suomen Nuorten Liitto (Youth league of developing Finland) from 1983 to 1992. He graduated as Master of Political Science from the University of HelsinkiUniversity of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
in 1988, majoring in political theory. His military rank is Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
. He is a devout Roman Catholic, which he became as a result of his experiences on his many trips to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Soini has also publicly announced that he is a cordial friend of the state of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. According to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Soini is "a die-hard supporter" of English football club Millwall FC. Soini currently lives in the Kaitaa
Kaitaa
Kaitaa or Kaitans is a district of southern Espoo, Finland, located south of the Länsiväylä highway, with a population of 6000.Kaitaa mostly consists of detached houses, and contains the Hannusjärvi recreational area...
district of Espoo
Espoo
Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
, in the Greater Helsinki area. He is married and has two children.
Political career
Soini was a member of the Finnish Rural PartyFinnish Rural Party
The Finnish Rural Party was a Finnish populist party. Starting out as a breakaway faction of the Agrarian League in 1959, the party was identified with the person of Veikko Vennamo, a former Agrarian League Member of Parliament known for his opposition to the politics of President Urho Kekkonen...
, and was its Secretary General from 1992. After the Rural Party dissolved following the March 1995 elections, Soini and two others filed paperwork, in mid-May 1995, to create a new political party, initially to be called the Pure Finnish Association. It was, instead, founded as the True Finns Party and two years later Soini succeeded Raimo Vistbacka
Raimo Vistbacka
Raimo Viljam Vistbacka is a Finnish politician and former member of the Finnish Parliament. He was first elected to the parliament in 1987, representing the True Finns' predecessor, the Finnish Rural Party. When the True Finns were founded in 1995 Vistbacka became the party's first MP. He retired...
as Chairman, a position he has held ever since. He ran for a seat in parliament in the spring 1999 elections
Finnish parliamentary election, 1999
The 1999 Finnish parliamentary election was held on March 21, 1999. Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen's Social Democrats remained the largest party of the Eduskunta, despite significant losses...
, but lost. He was first elected to the parliament in 2003
Finnish parliamentary election, 2003
The Finnish parliamentary election of 2003 was the 34th election to the Eduskunta , held on 16 March 2003 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term...
. Soini was his party's candidate in the 2006 Presidential election
Finnish presidential election, 2006
The Finnish Presidential election of 2006 saw the re-election of Tarja Halonen as President of Finland for a second six-year term.The first round of voting in Finnish presidential elections always takes place on the third Sunday of January, in this case 15 January 2006...
, finishing fifth out of the eight candidates in the first round, with a vote share of 3.4%. In March 2008, Soini wrote an autobiographical book called Maisterisjätkä, published by Tammi
Tammi (publishing company)
Tammi is a Finnish publishing company established in 1943 by an initiative of Väinö Tanner, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. In 1996, the company was bought by the Bonnier Group, and it is currently the third largest book publisher in Finland....
.
In 2011 he visited the party conference of UKIP, the British political party with which he has had a long friendship. He was also invited to speak at the UK Conservative Party Conference in 2011.
Parliamentary election 2011
The True Finns obtained 39 seats in the 2011 electionFinnish parliamentary election, 2011
An election to the Eduskunta was held on 17 April 2011 after the termination of the previous parliamentary term. Advance voting, which included voting by Finnish expatriates, was held between 6 and 12 April with a turnout of 31.2%....
, making them the third largest party. Soini received 43 437 personal votes, the highest amount of all of the candidates. Soini managed to raise the popularity of the party from 4.1% to 19.0% in four years. Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2008, its daily circulation was 412,421 on weekdays and 468,505 on Sundays...
opined in an editorial that Soini "rewrote the electoral history books". According to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, behind Soini's success was "brain, wit and charisma". A political analyst and university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
pointed to Soini's oratorical
Oratory
Oratory is a type of public speaking.Oratory may also refer to:* Oratory , a power metal band* Oratory , a place of worship* a religious order such as** Oratory of Saint Philip Neri ** Oratory of Jesus...
skills and ability to appeal to common people and make complicated things look easy. The election result was also referred to as "shocking" and "exceptional".
Political positions held
His curriculum vitae on the European Parliament webpage and the Finnish Parliament webpage list the following:- Pre-university school-leaving certificate (1981)
- Master of Political Science (1988)
- Youth League of Developing Finland, special correspondent of Suomen Uutiset (1983-89)
- Vice-Chair, Finnish Rural Party (1989-92)
- Party Secretary, Finnish Rural Party (1992-95)
- Chair, True Finns (1997-present)
- Member of the Finnish Parliament (2003-2009, 2011-)
- Member of the European Parliament (2009-2011)
- Member of Espoo city council (since 2001)
- Member of Espoo city executive (2006-07)
- Member, Legal Affairs Committee of the Finnish Parliament (2003-07); substitute member, Grand Committee of the Finnish Parliament (2003-07); member, Grand Committee of the Finnish Parliament (2007-09); substitute member, Legal Affairs Committee of the Finnish Parliament (2007-09)
- Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee of the Finnish Parliament (2011-); substitute member, Grand Committee of the Finnish Parliament (2011-)
Climate change
In January 2011 Soini called for Finland to unilaterally quit all international climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
agreements. According to him, emission trading is a major financial crime in Europe. The European Union Emission Trading Scheme
European Union Emission Trading Scheme
The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme also known as the European Union Emissions Trading System, was the first large emissions trading scheme in the world. It was launched in 2005 to combat climate change and is a major pillar of EU climate policy...
was introduced in 2005. Soini wanted to cancel all recent additions to the energy and environmental taxes. He used a violent expression: "Green taxes are like shooting yourself in the foot". Soini was criticised for acting as a brake on climate change solutions by MP Oras Tynkkynen, a Green
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....
focusing on climate policy, and for calling Finland the North Korea of climate policy by MP Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, a Social Democrat
Social Democratic Party of Finland
The Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the three major political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. Jutta Urpilainen is the current SDP leader. The party has been in the Finnish government cabinet for long periods and has set many...
.