Finland has recently been the location of a great deal of political activity, including but not limited to the field starting to really fill out for the country's upcoming Presidential election – at least the first round, which is slated for early 2024.
Just days ago, ex-Prime Minister Alexander Stubb made his candidacy official. He was the seventh to do so. Incumbent Sauli Niinisto, though very popular, is term-limited from running again. Perhaps the race's biggest remaining outstanding question has been who'll be the Social Democratic Party of Finland's nominee.
It is still uncertain, but a clear favorite seems to have emerged.
Evidently, Urpilainen's taking
Jutta Urpilainen has been asked to be the Social Democratic Party's Presidential nominee. Outgoing Party Leader and former Prime Minister Sanna Marin made her hopes very public on August 16th. She announced it during a speech at the party's summer gathering.
In her comments, Marin promised that Urpilainen would have a united SDP fully supporting her. Urpilainen later expressed her gratitude and said she was seriously considering accepting the nomination. She also said she would make a final decision by November.
Apparently, a key factor in the mix is Urpilainen's current job. Since late 2019, she has been the European commissioner for international partnerships.
She serves under European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of Germany. If Urpilainen does enter the race, she would likely go on unpaid leave from the Commission.
Urpilainen's first official political office was as a member of the city council of Kokkola in western Finland, followed by the regional council for Central Ostrobothnia.
In 2003, she was elected to the Parliament of Finland for the first time. She represented the electoral district of Vaasa.
In 2008, Urpilainen was selected as the new leader of the Social Democratic Party. She succeeded former Deputy Prime Minister Eero Heinaluoma, who had resigned as party leader. In the 2011 Parliamentary election, the SDP received the second-most votes and seats.
The party entered into a coalition with five others.
Deputy prime minister
When Jyrki Katainen became prime minister in 2011, Jutta Upilainen was named deputy prime minister, as well as the minister of finance. In 2014, she was ousted as party leader by Antti Rinne.
As a result, Rinne took over as both deputy prime minister and finance minister. Albeit only briefly, the SDP did not fare well in the 2015 Parliamentary election. Rinne later served brief stints as prime minister and Parliament speaker.
Urpilainen left the Finnish Parliament in 2019 to take her current office with the European Commission.
Is the daughter of a politician
Jutta Urpilainen is a native of Lapua in South Ostrobothnia. She would earn a master's degree in education from the University of Jyvaskyla in central Finland.
Afterwards, Urpilainen became a schoolteacher.
Her father, Kari Urpilainen, has also been a longtime politician. Kari also served in the Finnish Parliament. He has also been a member of the Kokkola and Central Ostrobothnia councils. For the former, he was at one point its vice-chairman.
Jutta is married to Juha Mustonen. Mustonen works for Finland's Foreign Affairs Minister. The couple have two adopted children.
