Lauri Ihalainen (born 14 May 1947) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

trade union leader and politician who served as the

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

between 2011 and 2015.

Early life

Ihalainen was born in

Pihtipudas Pihtipudas is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in northern Central Finland along the Finnish national road 4, highway 4 (European route E75, E75), about north of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of ...

on 14 May 1947.

Career

Ihalainen is a member of the Social Democratic Party. He joined the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) on 5 November 1970 and became the SAK youth secretary on 15 November. Later he was appointed the SAK organization secretary and then the SAK secretary. He became the president of the SAK on 25 May 1990, replacing Pertti Viinanen in the post. He was in office for 18 eighteen years until May 2009. He was also the deputy chairman of Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance company. In addition, he served as the director of Metsämiehen Säätiö, southern region of Finnish Ice Hockey Association, Orders of the Finnish White Rose and Finnish Lion, director of VR Group Ltd. and director at Solidium Oy. He was also the board member of the Sanoma corporation from 2009 to 2011. He became a member of the Finnish parliament in the general elections of 2011. Ihalainen was appointed minister of labor to the cabinet led by prime minister

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 ...

on 22 June 2011. Ihalainen's tenure ended in May 2015 when Jari Lindström was appointed to the post.

Personal life

Ihalainen is married and has two children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ihalainen, Lauri 1947 births Living people People from Pihtipudas Social Democratic Party of Finland politicians Ministers of labour of Finland Members of the Parliament of Finland (2011–2015) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2015–2019) Finnish corporate directors Finnish trade union leaders