Jani Toivola

Jani Toivola
Toivola in 2015
Member of the Finnish Parliament
for Uusimaa
In office
2011–2019
Personal details
Born (1977-11-27) 27 November 1977 (age 46)
Vaasa, Finland
Political partyGreen League
OccupationActor, dancer
Websitehttp://janitoivola.net

Jani Petteri Toivola (born 27 November 1977) is a Finnish actor, dancer, author and an ex-politician. He studied in HB Acting Studio, New York City in 1999–2002. He has performed in several dance works, television series and plays. Toivola is also openly gay.[1] His father is Kenyan and his mother is Finnish.[2]

Toivola has been a veejay for the chart programme of the music channel The Voice. He has also so far hosted the third and fourth season of the Finnish Idols television series together with Ellen Jokikunnas.

In the Finnish parliamentary election of 2011, Toivola was elected to the Parliament of Finland as a candidate of the Green League. He was the first Finnish Black MP.[3] In 2018 he announced that he would not run for a third term.[4]

  1. ^ "Jani Toivola ei peittele rakkauttaan miehiin". Iltalehti (in Finnish). 27 January 2007.
  2. ^ "He's the other politician with a white mother and a black Kenyan father". The World from PRX. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  3. ^ "BBC World Service - Outlook, Protestors, Politicians and Scribes". BBC. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Toivola: I've decided not to run in next spring's elections". www.helsinkitimes.fi. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2021.