Paula Lehtomäki (born 29 November 1972 in

Kuhmo Kuhmo (known as ''Kuhmoniemi'' until 1937) is a town and a municipality in Finland and is located at the south-eastern corner of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population ...

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 ...

) is a Finnish politician. She started her political career in 1996, when she was elected to the

town council. In 1999 she was elected to the

Finnish Parliament 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 ...

, and again in 2003. In 2002, she was elected as the vice-chairman of

Keskusta The Centre Party ( fi, Suomen Keskusta , ''Kesk''; sv, Centern i Finland), officially the Centre Party of Finland, is an agrarian political party in Finland. Ideologically, the Centre Party is positioned in the centre on the political spect ...

. In April 2004, she was chosen as the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, making her the youngest minister in Matti Vanhanen's first cabinet. She is married and the mother of three children. Her hobbies include cross country skiing, cycling, Nordic walking, badminton, and

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

. On 17 April 2007 it was announced that she would be the Minister for Environment in

Matti Vanhanen's second cabinet The second cabinet of Matti Vanhanen was the 70th cabinet and Government of Finland. The cabinet held office from 19 April 2007 to 20 June 2010. The cabinet was a centre-right-led coalition, consisting of four parties: the Centre Party, the Nati ...

. At the same time it was also announced that she is pregnant, and would take her second

maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and ...

from a ministerial post later in 2007. She was Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers from 2019 - 2022. She is the first woman to hold the position, as well as the first person under 50. In her free time she sometimes sings in a band called Punatähdet, which means Red Star.

References

External links

Keskusta party home page
(in

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 ...

, English and Swedish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehtomaki, Paula 1972 births Living people People from Kuhmo Finnish Lutherans Centre Party (Finland) politicians Minister of the Environment 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) Women government ministers of Finland 21st-century Finnish women politicians Women members of the Parliament of Finland