Markus Mustajärvi (born 24 February 1963) is a Finnish politician for the Left Alliance. He has represented Lapland in the

Parliament of Finland 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 ...

since 2003.Markus Mustajärvi
Parliament of Finland. Retrieved 13 July 2017.

Life and career

Mustajärvi was born in

Savukoski Savukoski ( sme, Suovvaguoika, smn, Suovâkuoškâ, sms, Suõvvkuõškk) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland, Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The p ...

, Lapland. He graduated as ylioppilas in 1982, forestry engineer in 1988 and Master of Social Sciences in 1993, the last degree being from the

University of Jyväskylä The University of Jyväskylä ( fi, Jyväskylän yliopisto) is a research university in Jyväskylä, Finland. It has its origins in the first Finnish-speaking Teacher Training College (the so-called Teacher Seminary), founded in 1863. Ar ...

. He was member of the City Council of

Kemijärvi Kemijärvi ( se, Giemajávri, smn, Kiemâjävri, sms, Ǩeeʹmmjäuʹrr) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland. History The first permanent settler inhabitant of Kemijärvi was Paavali Ollinpoika H ...

until 2012 when he switched to Municipal Council of Savukoski. On 30 June 2011 Mustajärvi and fellow MP Jyrki Yrttiaho were expelled from the parliamentary group of the Left Alliance because they had voted for a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

against the

Katainen Cabinet The Katainen Cabinet (—June 24, 2014) was the 72nd cabinet of Finland, formed as a result of the 2011 post-parliamentary election negotiations between the Finnish parliamentary parties. Led by Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen of the National Coal ...

in which the Left Alliance was represented. Mustajärvi and Yrttiaho founded a new opposition parliamentary group called the Left Faction in September 2011. After the 2015 election Mustajärvi was allowed to return to the Left Alliance parliamentary group. On 17 May 2022, Mustajärvi was one of 8 MPs who voted against Finland joining

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

stating an opposition to making Finland's border "the border between the military alliance and Russia."

References

External links

* 1963 births Living people People from Savukoski Left Alliance (Finland) politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (2003–07) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2007–11) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2011–15) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2015–19) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2019–23) University of Jyväskylä alumni {{Finland-politician-stub