Astrid Gunilla Margareta Thors (born 6 November 1957) has been a Member of the

Finnish Parliament The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

19 March 2003 – 4 September 2013. A Finnish-Swedish politician, formerly of the

Swedish People's Party The Swedish People's Party of Finland ( sv, Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (SFP); fi, Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (RKP)) is a political party in Finland aiming to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finlan ...

, Thors is a

Candidate of Law Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. N ...

and held several senior jobs before becoming a Member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

in 1996 where she worked until 2004. From 2005–2007 she chaired the

Swedish Assembly of Finland The Swedish Assembly of Finland ( sv, Svenska Finlands Folkting, fi, Suomenruotsalaiset kansankäräjät, although often referred to as ''Folktinget'' even in Finnish) is an official consultative parliament representing the Swedish-speaking mi ...

. After the 2007 elections she was chosen to be the new Minister of Migration and European Affairs in

Matti Vanhanen Matti Taneli Vanhanen (; born 4 November 1955) is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010. He was also Chairman of the Centre Party and President of the European Council in 2006. In his earlier career, h ...

's second cabinet. During 2007 and 2011 Thors became a target of the increasing anti-immigration and anti-European Union sentiment. She received death threats that were consequently investigated by the police, and faced a lot of criticism, in parliament and especially on chat and blogging sites. This regardless of the fact that during her term, the Finnish immigration policy continued to tighten outside the EU directives. The critique Minister Thors faced subsequently led to a decision not to continue this ministerial position in Prime Minister Katainen's government, and immigration policy was returned under the Interior Minister's wings and EU policy was given to the new position of the Minister of European Affairs and Foreign Trade. From 20 August 2013 to 19 August 2016 she was at the position of

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

High Commissioner on National Minorities Created on July 8, 1992 by the Helsinki Summit Meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), now known as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) ...

. At this post she was preceded by Ambassador

Knut Vollebaek Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used whi ...

of Norway and succeeded by Ambassador

Lamberto Zannier Lamberto Zannier (born 15 June 1954) is an Italian diplomat Biography He was OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and earlier served as the Secretary General of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe). Previou ...

of Italy. Thors went to the Swedish co-educational school

Nya svenska samskolan (also known as '','' ), was a Swedish-language, co-educational private educational institution in Helsinki, Finland, from 1888 to 1977. History was founded in the spring of 1888 as an educational institution with nine levels. The founders were ...

Personal life

In 2004, Thors married Juhani Terho Antero Turunen.

References

Sources

CV of Astrid Thors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thors, Astrid 1957 births Living people Women government ministers of Finland Finnish bloggers Politicians from Helsinki Swedish People's Party of Finland MEPs MEPs for Finland 1996–1999 MEPs for Finland 1999–2004 20th-century women MEPs for Finland 21st-century women MEPs for Finland Finnish women bloggers Finnish people of Swedish descent