Jussi Halla-aho

Jussi Halla-aho
Halla-aho in 2023
Speaker of the Parliament of Finland
Incumbent
Assumed office
21 June 2023
Preceded byPetteri Orpo
Leader of the Finns Party
In office
10 June 2017 – 14 August 2021
Preceded byTimo Soini
Succeeded byRiikka Purra
Member of Parliament
for Helsinki
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 July 2019
In office
19 April 2011 – 30 June 2014
Succeeded byMika Raatikainen
Member of the European Parliament
for Finland
In office
1 July 2014 – 2 July 2019
Personal details
Born
Jussi Kristian Halla-aho

(1971-04-27) 27 April 1971 (age 53)
Tampere, Pirkanmaa, Finland
Political partyFinns Party (2010–present)
Spouse
Hilla Halla-aho
​
(m. 2002)​
Children5[1]
Alma materUniversity of Helsinki

Jussi Kristian Halla-aho (Finnish: [ˈjusːi ˈhɑlːɑˌɑho]; born 27 April 1971) is a Finnish politician, currently serving as the Speaker of the Parliament of Finland since 2023.[2] Halla-aho has served as a member of the Parliament of Finland from 2011 to 2014 and again since 2019, and as the leader of the Finns Party from 10 June 2017[3] to 14 August 2021.[4] Previously, between 2014 and 2019, he was a member of the European Parliament, where he was part of the Identity and Democracy group.[5][6][7]

Halla-aho has a PhD in Slavic Studies. Before entering national politics, he was best known for criticising multiculturalism and Finland's immigration policies in his online blog, Scripta. He was first elected to the Helsinki City Council in 2008 and to the Finnish parliament in 2011. In 2014 he was elected to the European Parliament. He was elected leader of the Finns Party in the summer of 2017, defeating Sampo Terho,[3] after which the majority of the party's MPs seceded in protest and formed a new party. In spite of this, Halla-aho led the Finns Party to success in the 2019 election: it recovered all of its lost seats, becoming the second-largest party in parliament (after the Social Democratic Party),[8] and Halla-aho won the largest share of personal votes in the country.[9]

Halla-aho has served as Speaker of Parliament since 21 June 2023. In 2024, he ran for President of Finland.

  1. ^ Vuorikoski, Salla:Jussi Halla-aholla lapsi avioliiton ulkopuolella - "Ei vaikuta kampanjointiin" Suomen Kuvalehti - 24.5.2017 (in Finnish)
  2. ^ "Immigration hardliner Halla-aho elected as Finland's Speaker of Parliament". Yle News. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Jussi Halla-aho elected Finns Party leader". Yle News. 10 June 2017
  4. ^ "Suora lähetys: Riikka Purra on perussuomalaisten uusi puheenjohtaja". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  5. ^ Mäkinen, Esa: What does Jussi Halla-aho really want? Archived 2011-04-26 at the Wayback Machine, Helsingin Sanomat – International Edition Metro, 30.11.2008. (in English)
  6. ^ Sauvala, Milka: Maahanmuuttokriitikko perussuomalaisten äänikuningas Helsingissä Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine, Helsingin Sanomat, 26.10.2008. (in Finnish)
  7. ^ Viljanmaa, Toni: Perussuomalaiset saivat parikymmentä maahanmuuttokriitikkoa valtuustoihin Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine, Satakunnan Kansa 27.10.2008. (in Finnish)
  8. ^ "Koko maa, tulokset puolueittain".
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference aanikuningas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).