Mika Tapani Lintilä (born 15 April 1966) is a Finnish politician currently serving as Minister of Economic Affairs since 2019. A member of the Centre Party, he has been a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) since 1999. Lintilä has formerly served as Minister of Economic Affairs in the

Sipilä Cabinet The cabinet of Juha Sipilä was the 74th government of Finland, from 2015 to 2019. It was formed following the parliamentary election of 2015 and formally appointed by President Sauli Niinistö on 29 May 2015. From June 2017, the cabinet consis ...

from 2016 to 2019 and as

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

and

Deputy Prime Minister of Finland The Deputy Prime Minister of Finland (, , ''Finland's Prime Minister's Substitute''), officially titled the Minister deputising for the Prime Minister, is a member of the Finnish Government who becomes the acting Prime Minister if the Prime Minis ...

in the

Rinne Cabinet The cabinet of Antti Rinne was the 75th government of Finland. It was formed following the parliamentary election of 2019 and was formally appointed by President Sauli Niinistö on 6 June 2019. The cabinet consisted of a coalition formed by the ...

in 2019.

Early life and education

Lintilä is the son of the Centre Party MP Aaro Lintilä. He holds a Bachelor of Administrative Sciences from

Tampere University , image_name = , motto = ''Human Potential Unlimited'' , established = 1925; , type = Public , rector = Mari Walls , academic_staff = 4,200 (2021) , students = 21,500 (2021) , ...

Political career

Member of the Finnish Parliament, 1999–present

Lintilä has been serving as a member of the Finnish Parliament since the

1999 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1999. * 1999 electoral calendar Africa * 1999 Algerian presidential election * 1999 Botswana general election * 1999 Beninese parliamentary election * 1999 Central African Republic presidential elect ...

. He has since served on a variety of committees, including the following: * Commerce Committee (member) 7 April 1999 – 18 March 2003 * Committee for the Future (deputy member) 23 April 1999 – 29 February 2000, (deputy member) 3 March 2000 – 15 March 2002, (member) 19 March 2002 – 18 March 2003, (deputy member) 3 April 2007 – 2 May 2007, (member) 5 May 2015 – 8 June 2015 * Finance Committee (deputy member) 28 November 2000 – 4 September 2001, (deputy member) 2 April 2003 – 25 April 2003, (member) 29 April 2003 – 20 March 2007, (member) 3 May 2007 – 19 April 2011, (deputy member) 3 May 2011 – 29 June 2011, (member) 30 June 2011 – 21 April 2015 * Administration Committee (deputy member) 2 April 2003 – 8 September 2006, (deputy member) 5 May 2015 – 8 June 2015 * Subcommittee for Administration and Control (member) 8 April 2003 – 20 March 2007 * Tax Subcommittee (member) 8 April 2003 – 20 March 2007, (Chair) 4 May 2007 – 19 April 2011, (member) 1 September 2011 – 21 April 2015 * Subcommittee for Education and Science (additional member) 8 April 2003 – 5 May 2003, (member) 6 May 2003 – 20 March 2007 * Sub-committee for Employment and the Economy (member) 4 May 2007 – 19 April 2011, (member) 1 September 2011 – 21 April 2015 * Social Affairs and Health Committee (member) 3 May 2011 – 29 June 2011 * Audit Committee (member) 30 June 2011 – 21 April 2015 * Transport and Communications Committee (member) 5 May 2015 – 8 June 2015 * Electors (member) 6 April 1999 – 29 February 2000 * Parliamentary Auditors (deputy member) 1 January 2000 – 31 December 2007 * Administrative Council of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (member) 14 April 2000 – 2 May 2007, (Chair) 30 November 2004 – 2 May 2007 * Parliamentary State Auditors (deputy member) 1 January 2004 – 20 March 2007 * Parliamentary Supervisory Council (member) 3 May 2007 – 29 June 2011 * Commissioners to the Government Guarantee Fund (member) 30 June 2011 – 12 March 2015, (vice chair) 21 September 2011 – 12 March 2015 * Finance Committee (member) 9 June 2015 – present * Subcommittee for Administration and Security (member) 11 September 2015 – present * Tax Subcommittee (Chair) 11 September 2015 – present * Commerce Committee (member) 9 June 2015 – present In addition to his committee assignments, Lintilä has been a deputy member of the Finnish Delegation to the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomou ...

(since 1999) and a full member of the delegation to the

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an inter-parliamentary institution, international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and coop ...

(since 2015).

Minister of Economic Affairs, 2016–2019

On 27 October 2016, Lintilä was elected within the Centre Party to follow

Olli Rehn Olli Ilmari Rehn (; born 31 March 1962) is a Finnish economist and public official who has been serving as governor of the Bank of Finland since 2018. A member of the Centre Party, he previously served as the European Commissioner for Enlargem ...

as a Minister of Economic Affairs starting 29 December 2016. During his time in office, Finland's center-right government sold stakes in oil refiner and biofuel company

Neste Neste Oyj (international name: Neste Corporation; former names Neste Oil Corporation and Fortum Oil and Gas Oy) is an oil refining and marketing company located in Espoo, Finland. It produces, refines and markets oil products, provides eng ...

while also strengthening national influence over the telecom network gear maker

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...

Minister of Finance, 2019

Following the 2019 national elections, the Centre Party named Mika Lintilä as its candidate for the post of finance minister in the newly formed, centre-left coalition government led by Prime Minister Antti Rinne of the Social Democrats. In this capacity, he chaired the meetings of the

Economic and Financial Affairs Council The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) is one of the oldest configurations of the Council of the European Union and is composed of the economics and finance ministers of the 27 European Union member states, as well as Budget Minist ...

when Finland held the rotating

presidency of the Council of the European Union The presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union, which is the co-legislator of the EU legislature alongside the European Parliament. It rotates among the member state ...

in 2019. After the collapse of the Rinne Cabinet, the leader of the Center Party

Katri Kulmuni Katri Briitta Ilona Kulmuni (born 4 September 1987) is a Finnish politician who served as the 35th deputy prime minister of Finland and the leader of the Centre Party between 2019 and 2020. A member of the Centre Party, she has been a Member of ...

took the seat of the Minister of Finance in the following

Marin Cabinet The Marin Cabinet is the incumbent 76th government of Finland. It was formed following the collapse of the Rinne Cabinet and officially took office on 10 December 2019. The cabinet headed by Sanna Marin consists of a coalition formed by the Socia ...

, while Lintilä was given the portfolio of the Minister of Economic Affairs

Other activities

European Union organizations

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions ...

(EIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2019) *

European Stability Mechanism The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is an intergovernmental organization located in Luxembourg City, which operates under public international law for all eurozone member states having ratified a special ESM intergovernmental treaty. It was ...

(ESM), Member of the Board of Governors (2019)

International organizations

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank that aims to improve economic and social outcomes in Asia. The bank currently has 105 members, including 14 prospective members from around the world. The br ...

(AIIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2019) *

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...

(EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2019) *

Nordic Investment Bank The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) is an international financial institution founded in 1975 by the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden). In 2005, the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) also becam ...

(NIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2019) *

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is an international financial institution which offers political risk insurance and credit enhancement guarantees. These guarantees help investors protect foreign direct investments against ...

(MIGA),

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Grou ...

, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2017) *

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2017)

Finnish organizations

Yle Yleisradio Oy ( Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, found ...

, Member of the Administrative Council (2011–2019) * Bank of Finland, Deputy Member of the Board of Auditors (2004-2006)

Political positions

In response to the 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires, Lintilä demanded publicly that the European Union should block imports of beef from Brazil, and also consider a suspension of soybeans import to put pressure on the government of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...

to counter the fires.Francesco Guarascio (13 September 2019)
EU should stop import of beef, soybeans from Brazil over Amazon fires: Finland
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lintilä, Mika 1966 births Living people People from Toholampi Centre Party (Finland) politicians Deputy Prime Ministers of Finland Ministers of Finance of Finland Government ministers of Finland Members of the Parliament of Finland (1999–2003) 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)