Timo Harakka

Timo Olavi Harakka (born 31 December 1962) is a Finnish politician, journalist and author. Since April 2015, he has represented the electoral district of Uusimaa in the Parliament of Finland as a Social Democrat.[1]

Timo Harakka
Minister of Transport and Communications
Assumed office
10 December 2019
Prime MinisterSanna Marin
Preceded bySanna Marin
Minister of Labour
In office
6 June 2019 (2019-06-06) – 10 December 2019 (2019-12-10)
Prime MinisterAntti Rinne
Preceded byJari Lindström
Succeeded byTuula Haatainen
Member of the Finnish Parliament
Assumed office
22 April 2015 (2015-04-22)
ConstituencyUusimaa
Personal details
Born
Timo Olavi Harakka

(1962-12-31) 31 December 1962
Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
Political partySocial Democratic
Spouse(s)Anu Laitila
EducationMaster of Arts
Alma materHelsinki Theatre Academy
ProfessionJournalist, author
Websitetimoharakka.fi

In June 2019, Harakka was appointed Minister of Employment in the Rinne Cabinet.[2] He served in the position until the collapse of the cabinet in December 2019, after which he joined the subsequent Marin Cabinet as Minister of Transport and Communications.[3]

Early life and education

Harakka was born in Helsinki. Both parents his were deaf and therefore his first language is Finnish sign language. He worked as a journalist for several years and has been editor-in-chief of both Jyväskylän Ylioppilaslehti, magazine of the students' union of the University of Jyväskylä, and Vihreä Lanka, magazine linked with the Green League. Since 1997 Harakka worked for Yle and hosted television programs called Musta laatikko, Pressiklubi, and 10 kirjaa.[4] In 2005 he graduated from the Helsinki Theatre Academy with a master of arts in theatre and drama.[5]

Political career

In the 2014 European Parliament election Harakka received 22,839 votes and was elected substitute member of the European Parliament for the Social Democratic Party.[6] In the 2015 Finnish parliamentary election he received 5,497 votes from Uusimaa and was elected to the Parliament.[7] He subsequently served the Finance and budget spokesperson of the parliamentary group and member of the Grand Committee of the Parliament.[1] On December 15, 2016 Harakka announced his candidacy for the leadership of Social Democratic Party.[8] He was defeated by the incumbent party leader Antti Rinne in the election on February 4, 2017.[9]

On June 6, 2019, Harakka was appointed Minister of Employment. Early in his tenure, when Finland held the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2019, he chaired the meetings of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council.[10]

Political positions

Harakka is well known for colourful initiatives and statements. He has described Boris Johnson’s decision 2019 to prorogue parliament as “incredible”, and compared it to "banning saunas in Finland".[11]

References
  1. Timo Harakka Parliament of Finland (in English). Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  2. "Government of Prime Minister Antti Rinne". Finnish Government. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  3. "Tässä ovat Marinin hallituksen ministerit – joukko äänikuningattaria, pikapaluun tekijä, maailman nuorin pääministeri" (in Finnish). Yle. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  4. Kuka? Timo Harakka's website (in Finnish). Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  5. Timo Harakka Parliament of Finland (in Finnish). Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  6. Candidates elected Ministry of Justice of Finland (in English). Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  7. Candidates elected Ministry of Justice of Finland (in English). Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  8. Backbench MP launches bid for SDP leadership Yle News (in English). December 15, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  9. Rinne wins SDP chair position Yle News on February 4, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  10. Tarmo Virki (December 10, 2019), Finland seeks to teach 50 million Europeans basics on AI Reuters.
  11. http://www.nordiclabourjournal.org/artikler/portrett/portait-2019/article.2019-09-09.1066369810 Timo Harakka’s challenge: to increase employment in Finland
Political offices
Preceded by
Sanna Marin		 Minister of Transport and Communications
2019–		 incumbent
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