Päivi Räsänen

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Päivi Räsänen
Räsänen in Espoo in 2009
Minister of the Interior of Finland
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 22, 2011 (2011-06-22)
Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen
Preceded by Anne Holmlund
Member of the Finnish Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office
1995
Chairperson of the Finnish Christian Democrats
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 2, 2004 (2004-10-02)
Preceded by Bjarne Kallis
Personal details
Born (1959-12-19) December 19, 1959
Sonkajärvi
Political party Christian Democrats
Occupation physician
Profession Licentiate in Medicine
Religion Evangelical Lutheran
Website Official website

Päivi Maria Räsänen, née Kuvaja (born December 19, 1959, in Sonkajärvi, Finland[1]), is a Finnish politician. The chairwoman of the Christian Democrats since 2004, she is the current Minister of the Interior of Finland.[2]

A physician by education, Räsänen got into politics in the early 1990s, running for parliament in 1991. She has been in the Riihimäki City Council since 1993, and in the Finnish Parliament since 1995. She was elected the chairperson of the Christian Democrats in October 2, 2004.[3] Resulting from the government formation after the 2011 election, which led to the Christian Democrats joining the government, Räsänen was nominated by the party as the Minister of the Interior in the 72nd Finnish Cabinet led by Jyrki Katainen,[4] and she was inaugurated along with the government on June 22, 2011.[2]

Career and political positions

Räsänen has been characterized as a conservative. On October 12, 2010, Räsänen was one of the participants on a live TV debate Homoilta, the guests of which debated on same-sex marriage and LGBT rights in general. The program was followed by an unprecedented exodus from the Evangelical Lutheran Church — in a few weeks, nearly 40,000 members left the Church through the website eroakirkosta.fi.[5][6] Räsänen was on the show representing her party and herself as a Christian individual along with five other opponents of gay marriage, but the resignations were specifically attributed to her by the media in general and then-Minister of Culture and Sports Stefan Wallin.[7] Räsänen thinks homosexual acts are a sin[8] and she herself does not consider her views "specifically extreme".[9]

When interviewed by Ylioppilaslehti on October 29, 2010, Räsänen said that she would favor Christians over Muslims when selecting asylum seekers to Finland due to Muslims', in her opinion, "difficulties to adjust to the Finnish culture".[10] Her comments were condemned as "incomprehensible and merciless" by then-Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors and then-Minister of Culture and Sports Stefan Wallin.[11] Räsänen responded to the criticism, saying her comments were misinterpreted, since she did not consider religion as the main criterion for asylum seekers' admissions, but instead she wanted to highlight the benefits of refugees' integration through religious connections.[12] In September 2012 Räsänen appointed a religiously conservative applicant, considered less qualified by the media, among six candidates to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which created considerable debate, especially as she had previously condemned political appointments of government officials.[13]

Stance on abortion

Abortion statements of Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen led to another large number of Finns leaving the Lutheran church of Finland via an online service in July 2013.[14] The number of abortions have declined significantly the last decades. Räsänen contrasted abortion law to animal protection law claiming the latter to give better protection for animals. ((Finnish): “Eläinsuojelulaki antaa paremman suojan lopetettavalle eläimelle kuin aborttilaki syntymättömälle lapselle. Aborttia puolustetaan sillä, että sikiö ei ole ihmispersoona, vaikka onkin hedelmöityksestä lähtien biologinen ihmisyksilö.”)[15] In total 6,500 persons resigned the church the first six days compared to the normal average 70 persons a day.[16]

Personal life

Räsänen is married and has five children. She lives in Riihimäki.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Päivi Räsänen". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Sanoma News. April 11, 2009. Retrieved June 23, 2011. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Ms Päivi Räsänen is the New Minister of the Interior". Ministry of the Interior. June 22, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2011. 
  3. ↑ "Räsänen nousi kristillisdemokraattien johtoon" (in Finnish). MTV3. Suomen Tietotoimisto. October 2, 2004. Retrieved June 23, 2011. 
  4. ↑ Laitinen, Joonas (June 18, 2011). "Kristillisten Päivi Räsänen ottaa vastuun maahanmuuttoasioista". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish) (Sanoma News). Retrieved June 23, 2011. 
  5. ↑ Seppälä, Olli (November 2, 2010). "Homoillan jälkeen yli 40 000 eronnut kirkosta" (in Finnish). Kotimaa-yhtiöt. Retrieved June 23, 2011. 
  6. ↑ "Yli 56 000 eronnut tänä vuonna – Homoillan jälkeen 30 000 eroamista" (in Finnish). Vakaumusten tasa-arvo. October 20, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2011. 
  7. ↑ "Wallin: Räsänen ei voi paeta vastuutaan". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish) (Sanoma News). Suomen Tietotoimisto. October 17, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2011. 
  8. ↑ Pirhonen, Kalle (October 18, 2010). "Päivi Räsänen aamu-tv:ssä: "Homoseksuaalisuuden harjoittaminen on syntiä"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Sanoma News. Retrieved June 23, 2011. 
  9. ↑ "Räsänen ei pidä homokommenttejaan erityisen jyrkkinä". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish) (Sanoma News). Suomen Tietotoimisto. October 15, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2011. 
  10. ↑ Manner, Maria (October 29, 2010). "Konservatiivien kuningatar". Ylioppilaslehti (in Finnish). Student Union of the University of Helsinki. Retrieved June 23, 2011. 
  11. ↑ "Wallin ja Thors: Räsäsen pakolaispuheet käsittämättömiä". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish) (Sanoma News). Suomen Tietotoimisto. October 29, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2011. 
  12. ↑ "Räsänen: Tulkinta pakolaispuheista yksiviivainen". Turun Sanomat (in Finnish) (TS-Yhtymä). Suomen Tietotoimisto. October 29, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2011. 
  13. ↑ "Nergin nimitys oli tyylipuhtaasti, läpeensä poliittinen". Karjalainen (in Finnish) (Pohjois-Karjalan Kirjapaino). September 8, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012. 
  14. ↑ Räsänen’s comments cause spike in church resignations yle 11.7.2013
  15. ↑ yle Talk
  16. ↑ Räsäs-kohun aikana yli 6500 eronnut kirkosta Kaleva 17.7.2013

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Anne Holmlund		 Minister of the Interior of Finland
June 22, 2011 — 		Succeeded by
incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by
Bjarne Kallis		 Chairperson the Finnish Christian Democrats
October 2, 2004 — 		Succeeded by
incumbent
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