Merja Kyllönen (born 25 January 1977) is a Finnish politician and

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) from

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. She is a member of the Left Alliance, part of the

European United Left–Nordic Green Left European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

. She was the Minister of Transport in

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 ...

2011–2014. Since 2014, she has been a

(MEP), representing Finland. In 2018, Kyllönen was the candidate of the Left Alliance in the Finnish presidential election. In the election, Kyllönen placed seventh with 3 percent of the votes, while the incumbent president

Sauli Niinistö Sauli Väinämö Niinistö (; born 24 August 1948) is a Finnish politician who has served as president of Finland since March 2012, the 12th person to hold that office. A lawyer by education, Niinistö was Chairman of the National Coalition Part ...

went on to secure his second term with a majority of votes.

Early career

Merja Kyllönen graduated as a biomedical laboratory technician from Oulu Polytechnic from

Suomussalmi Suomussalmi () is a municipality in Finland and is located in the Kainuu region about northeast of Kajaani, the capital of Kainuu and south of Kuusamo. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The popul ...

, Kainuu region,

in 2000. While working as a laboratory officer and a technical assistant at a pharmacy, Kyllönen “continued her career in politics in the Council of the Kainuu region, among the representatives of Tradeka (2004–2011), and in the Parliament of Finland beginning in 2003.” She was serving at different capacities including “as a member of the Chancellery Commission and the Employment and Equality Committee. She was appointed to the executive board of the parliamentary group of the Left Alliance.” Kyllönen brought far-reaching reforms in the transport sector during her tenure as the Minister of Transport in Katainen's Government. These include “a toll system favoring public transport and decreasing the alcohol level limit for driving under influence” and government resolution to convert

Helsinki-Malmi Airport Helsinki-Malmi Airport ( fi, Helsinki-Malmin lentoasema, sv, Helsingfors-Malm flygplats) is an airfield in Helsinki, Finland, located in the district of Malmi, north-north-east of the city centre. It was opened in 1936. Until the opening of Hel ...

into a residential area.

Parliamentary service

*Member, Committee on Transport and Tourism *Member, Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee Kyllönen, as a rapporteur, supported the

Fourth Railway Package The fourth railway package is a set of changes to rail transport regulation in the European Union law. It covers standards and authorisation for rolling stock; workforce skills; independent management of infrastructure; and the liberalisation ...

. Kyllönen served as rapporteur for the controversial directive on posted drivers, meant to update the Posted Workers Directive and related acts, amendments on which received very narrow and surprise majorities, including one on whether to ensure conditions of workers' accommodation and the reimbursement of expenditures related to their posting assignment, where over 50 MEPs changed their vote on the record after the result was determined. The text was eventually approved in April 2019, the fourth session which debated or voted on the subject. In March 2019, Kyllönen was the recipient of the Transport and Tourism Award at ''The Parliament Magazines annual MEP Awards.

References

External links

Merja Kyllönen
1977 births Living people People from Suomussalmi Left Alliance (Finland) politicians Ministers of Transport and Public Works of Finland Members of the Parliament of Finland (2007–11) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2011–15) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2019–23) MEPs for Finland 2014–2019 21st-century women MEPs for Finland Left Alliance (Finland) MEPs Women government ministers of Finland Women members of the Parliament of Finland Candidates for President of Finland {{Finland-MEP-stub