Pekka Puska (born 18 December 1945 in Vaasa) is a Finnish physician, docent and politician. Puska held the position of Director General of the

National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Finland The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL, fi, Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos, sv, Institutet för hälsa och välfärd; until 2019, National Institute for Health and Welfare) is a Finnish research and development institute operating ...

in 2009–2013. THL was formed following the merging of National Public Health Institute of Finland (KTL), and the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES). Dr. Puska headed KTL from 2003 to 2009. Puska is a Member of Parliament ( Eduskunta) since 2017 and was previously a Member of Parliament in 1987–1991. Puska is a Docent for University of Helsinki and University of Eastern Finland. Dr. Puska is considered to have had a significant influence on Finnish public health research and practice for several decades. He spearheaded the

North Karelia Project North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

(as Director and Principal Investigator) for preventing cardiovascular disease 1972–1977, during which time cardiovascular disease mortality amongst men fell by 80 per cent. Puska worked as a director for NCD prevention and health promotion at the World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters in 2001–2003. In 2006 he was the Finnish candidate for the Director-General post of WHO. From 2010 to 2013 he was Chancellor of the University of Turku. He also currently holds the position of President o
World Heart Federation
(WHF) and that of Vice-President of th
International Association of Public Health Institutes
(IANPHI).

References

External links

*
Presentation on the National Public Health Institutes webpage
1945 births Living people People from Vaasa Centre Party (Finland) politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (1987–91) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2015–19) Finnish public health doctors Chancellors of the University of Turku Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare – {{Finland-med-bio-stub