Alexander Stubb

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Alexander Stubb
Alexander Stubb

photo by Mikhail Evstafiev
Incumbent
Assumed office 
2008-04-04
President Tarja Halonen
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen
Preceded by Ilkka Kanerva
Member of the European Parliament
for Finland
In office
2004-07-30 – 2008-04-04
Succeeded by Sirpa Pietikäinen
Born April 1, 1968 (1968-04-01) (age 40)
Helsinki, Finland
Nationality Finnish
Political party National Coalition (Finnish)
People's Party (European)
Spouse Suzanne Innes-Stubb
Children Oliver Johan and Emilie
Residence Genval, Belgium
Occupation Politician, professor, journalist
Profession Politician
Website http://www.alexstubb.com/

Cai-Göran Alexander Stubb (born April 1, 1968 in Helsinki) is a Finnish politician and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 4 April 2008.[1] From 2004 to 2008 he was a Member of the European Parliament with the European People's Party (EPP) and a professor at the College of Europe.[2]

Contents

[edit] Background

In 1986, Stubb graduated from Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida and graduated two years later from the Gymnasiet Lärkan in Helsinki. After completing his military service, he won a golf scholarship to Furman University in South Carolina, where he intended to study for a business degree. He later switched to political science, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1993. The following year he gained a Diploma in French Language and Civilisation from the Sorbonne in Paris. In addition to his natives Swedish and Finnish (he is bilingual), Stubb speaks English, French and German.

In 1995 he gained a Master of Arts in European Affairs from the College of Europe, Belgium. Between 1995 and 1997 he was a researcher at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then at the Finnish Academy from 1997 to 1999. In 1997 he also started his work as a columnist, which he continues today. Stubb gained a Doctor of Philosophy from the London School of Economics in 1999.[2][3]

Between 1999 and 2001 he was a special researcher at Finland's representation to the European Union in Brussels, as well as a member of the Finnish government's delegation to the intergovernmental negotiations for the Treaty of Nice. In 2000, he became a professor at the College of Europe, a position he still holds. Following the IGC's conclusion in 2001 he became an adviser to the President of the European Commission (then Romano Prodi) and a member of the Commission Task Force on the European Convention. In 2003 he returned to Finland's representation to the EU as a special expert and to the intergovernmental negotiations, this time for the European Constitution. When that ended in 2004, he stood for the National Coalition Party in the elections to the European Parliament.[2][3]

He lives in Genval, Belgium with his wife, Suzanne Innes-Stubb[4] who is a British born lawyer.[5] She works for the law firm White & Case in Brussels. They have two children, a daughter named Emilie and a son called Oliver Johan.[4]

[edit] European Parliament

Alexander Stubb served as an MEP for Finland from 2004 to 2008. He was elected in 2004 with 115 225 votes (the second highest number of votes in Finland for that election) as a member of the National Coalition Party. As that party was a member of the EPP, he sat in the European People's Party-European Democrats group.[2] During his time he became one of the most well-known members of the Parliament.[6]

Stubb was a member on the Committee on Budgetary Control and a vice-president on the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection. He was a substitute member on the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (as of August 2007).[2]

In 2006 he wrote a report for the Parliament on the EU's interpretation costs, which was adopted by the Parliament. He called for greater awareness of the costs of translation, which he calculated as 511 million euro in 2005 for the Parliament, Commission and Council together. Despite the costs and the need for some changes, he underlined that multilingualism is one of the EU's main assets.[7]

[edit] Finnish government

On 1 April 2008, Stubb's 40th birthday, the Finnish government announced that Stubb would be appointed as its new Minister for Foreign Affairs following a scandal surrounding his predecessor, Ilkka Kanerva. Stubb is expected to be sworn in on 4 April.[8] The decision to appoint him had been unanimous[9] and his seat in the European Parliament will be taken up by Sirpa Pietikäinen, a former environment minister.[5]

Stubb is seen as a competent politician[5] and has been a supporter of Finland's accession to NATO, stating he does not understand Finland's non-alignment policy. He also does not believe the President of Finland needs to attend meetings of the European Council in addition to the Prime Minister.[9] Jyrki Katainen, the Finnish Finance Minister and chairman of National Coalition Party, supported Stubb stating he was surprising, courageous and that he "puts a smile on one's face".[5]

[edit] Other work

Stubb has stated that he has "always been of the opinion that matters must be discussed openly and honestly", hence he is a columnist for various newspapers; APU, Ilta-Sanomat, Blue Wings, various papers in Suomen Lehtiyhtymä group, Nykypäivä and Hufvudstadsbladet. He has also authored a number of academic articles and nine books about the European Union.[10] Stubb has a podcast and a blog, which he maintained post-election despite some other Finnish political figures largely abandoning theirs.[11]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Stubb Calls for Bold and Active Foreign Policy. Yle news. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e Alexander STUBB. European Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  3. ^ a b Alex's abridged CV. Alexander Stubb. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  4. ^ a b Personal details. Alexander Stubb. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  5. ^ a b c d MEP Alexander Stubb to replace Ilkka Kanerva as Foreign Minister. Helsingin Sanomat (2008-04-01). Retrieved on 2008-04-01.
  6. ^ Riley Institute's EU Conference Continues Today; Stubb to Present Closing Address. Furman University. Retrieved on 2007-08-28.
  7. ^ More awareness of translation costs. Alexander Stubb MEP. EPP-ED group (2007-07-10). Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  8. ^ Finnish FM loses job over texts. BBC News (2008-04-01). Retrieved on 2008-04-01.
  9. ^ a b Finnish Conservatives name Stubb foreign minister. new Room Finland (2008-04-01). Retrieved on 2008-04-01.
  10. ^ Alex the columnist. Alexander Stubb. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  11. ^ Post-election lull in blog writing by political leaders. Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.

[edit] External links

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