Sirkka Aune-Marjatta Hämäläinen (born 8 May 1939 in

Riihimäki Riihimäki (literally "Drying barn hill") is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about north of Helsinki and southeast of Tampere. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to ...

) is a Finnish economist who served as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2003. She previously served as the Governor of the Bank of Finland from 1992 to 1998. Hämäläinen was the first woman to hold either post.

Early life and education

Hämäläinen was born on 8 May 1939, in Riihimäki. Her parents were Martti Oskari Hinkkala, a farmer, and Impi Aune Nikander, a household economics teacher. She graduated from the Karkkila Co-educational School in 1957 and following it attended

Helsinki School of Economics The Aalto University School of Business ( fi, Aalto-yliopiston kauppakorkeakoulu; sv, Aalto-universitets handelshögskola), is the largest business school in Finland. Founded in 1911, it is the second oldest business school in Finland and one of ...

from which she obtained her B.S. and M.Sc. in economics in 1961 and 1964 respectively. She continued her studies at the same alma mater and got her Licentiate and

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in 1979 and 1981 respectively.

Career

Sirkka Hämäläinen began her career in 1961 as a research assistant at the Bank of Finland Institute for Economic Research. She was then promoted to Economist and served as such until 1972 when she became Head of the Department of National Economy. From 1981 to 1982 Hämäläinen was Head of the Department of the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

and from 1982 to 1991 served as Director at the Bank of Finland. In 1992 she was appointed a Governor central bank and was the first woman to hold that post. Hämäläinen resigned from BoF when appointed to serve on the Executive Board of the European Central Bank also the first female in role a position which she kept from 1998 to 2003. In October 2000 Hämäläinen spoke at the

Institute of International and European Affairs The Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) ( ga, An Institiúid Gnóthaí Idirnáisiúnta agus Eorpacha) is an Irish policy think tank focusing on European and international policy trends based in Dublin, Ireland. It is known for ...

Board member

From 1986 to 1992 Hämäläinen served on Supervisory Board of the Huhtamaki and from 1987 to 1990 she was a member of the Executive Board at the

Finnish Cultural Foundation Finnish Cultural Foundation ( fi, Suomen Kulttuurirahasto) is a private nonprofit foundation dedicated to the promotion of culture and science in Finland. The foundation's assets are about 1.1 billion euros, which makes it one of the largest priva ...

's Supporting Society. Hämäläinen was then promoted to Board of Directors and then to its Supervisory Board at which she served until 1992 and 2005 respectively. She also served at the Board of Business Education Fund in 1989 and was a Chairman of the Board of the Consumer Research Center from 1990 to 1996. Hämäläinen had also served on many Delegation Boards. In 1994 she served as a Delegation Member of the Savonlinna Opera Festival while being a Chairman of the Risto Ryti Delegation. A year later, she served on Delegation Boards of Valamo Foundation and Stiftelsen Åbo Akademie and from 1995 to 2006 she was a member of the

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...

. Between 1997 and 2000 she served as Chairman and then as a Director of the Raging Roses Association. In 2004 Sirkka Hämäläinen joined Board Professionals Association and the same year was promoted to its Board of Directors. While serving to various corporate organizations, Hämäläinen was a Chairman of the Board of the Finnish Chamber Orchestra from 2004 to 2008 and until 2009 she served on the Helsinki School of Economics Advisory Board. Sirkka Hämäläinen returned to her alma mater and served as Vice Chairman of the Board of the

Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture Aalto is a Finnish surname meaning "wave". Notable people with the surname include: * Aino Aalto (1894–1949), Finnish architect and designer * Alec Aalto (1942–2018), Finnish diplomat * Alvar Aalto (1898–1976), Finnish architect and designe ...

from 2012 to 2014.

Personal life

From 1961 to 1995, Sirkka Hämäläinen was married to Lieutenant Colonel Arvo Alpo Ossian. Together they had two children, Salla Johanna (born 1964) and Jonni Tero (born 1969). In 1999 she married Bo Erik Johan Lindfors.

Honors

*Honorary doctorate,

Åbo Akademi University Åbo Akademi University ( sv, Åbo Akademi , ) is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland (or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in Turku (Åbo is the Swedish name of the city) but has also activiti ...

(1995) *Chairman of the Risto Ryti Society (1994-2001) *Member of Real Academia de Ciencias Económicas y Financieras, Spain. * Order of the White Star *

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

Sources

*Flitner, Bettina: ''Frauen mit Visionen – 48 Europäerinnen (Women with visions – 48 Europeans)''. With texts by

Alice Schwarzer Alice Sophie Schwarzer (born 3 December 1942) is a German journalist and prominent feminist. She is founder and publisher of the German feminist journal '' EMMA''. Beginning in France, she became a forerunner of feminist positions against anti-ab ...

. Munich: Knesebeck, 2004. , p. 104–107.

References

External links

Sirkka Hämäläinen photographed by Bettina Flitner