Henna Maria Virkkunen (born 4 June 1972) is a Finnish politician who has been serving as a
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
(MEP) since 2014. She is a member of the
National Coalition Party
sv, Samlingspartiet
, leader1_title = Chairman
, leader1_name = Petteri Orpo
, leader2_title = Deputy chairs
, leader2_name = Antti HäkkänenElina ValtonenAnna-Kaisa Ikonen
, merger = Finnish Party, Young Finn ...
, part of the
European People's Party. She was Minister of Public Administration and Local Government in the government of
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Jyrki Katainen
Jyrki Tapani Katainen (born 14 October 1971) is a Finnish politician who served as the European Commission's Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness from 2014 until 2019. Katainen was previously Prime Minister of Finland fr ...
from 22 June 2011 to 24 June 2014.
Political career
In parliament, Virkkunen has been serving on the
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) is a committee of the European Parliament. Its areas of responsibility relate to industry, especially technology-intensive manufacturing, information technology, and telecommunications. It also ...
(since 2014) and the
Committee on Transport and Tourism The Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) is a committee of the European Parliament. Its current chair is the French MEP Karima Delli of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance.
Research service
The Committee is directly supported by ...
(since 2021). In 2022, she joined the Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of
Pegasus and equivalent surveillance
spyware
Spyware (a portmanteau for spying software) is software with malicious behaviour that aims to gather information about a person or organization and send it to another entity in a way that harms the user—for example, by violating their priva ...
.
Virkkunen was the
rapporteur
A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word.
For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...
on the non-binding opinion on
digital platforms and on
driving and rest times.
In addition to her committee assignments, Virkkunen has been a member of the parliament's delegation for relations with
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
(2014-2019) and with the
Arab Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
(since 2019). She is also a member of the European Internet Forum; the
European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights
The European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights is an intergroup of the European Parliament's legislators which focuses on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons both inside and outside the European Union ...
; the European Parliament Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals; and the European Parliament Intergroup on Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas.
In December 2020, Virkkunen received the Energy award at ''The Parliament Magazines annual
MEP Awards.
References
External links
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1972 births
Living people
People from Joutsa
National Coalition Party politicians
Ministers of Education of Finland
Ministers of Transport and Public Works of Finland
Members of the Parliament of Finland (2007–11)
Members of the Parliament of Finland (2011–15)
MEPs for Finland 2014–2019
MEPs for Finland 2019–2024
21st-century women MEPs for Finland
Women government ministers of Finland
Women members of the Parliament of Finland
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